Ben Avon Borough v. Ohio Valley Water Co.

Citations

• 271 Pa. 346
• 114 A. 369
• 1921 Pa. LEXIS 509

Syllabus

<p>Public service companies — Bates—Confiscation—Due process of law — Constitutional law.</p> <p>1. Due process of law requires that some judicial tribunal, upon its own independent judgment as to both law and facts, shall determine whether or not rates, which the public service commission allows a utility company to charge, are confiscatory.</p> <p>2. Confiscation necessarily results if- a utility company is prevented from receiving a proper return upon its assets devoted to and used for public purposes.</p> <p>Appeals — Superior Court — Public service companies — Bates Act —Principle of appeals in equity.</p> <p>3. On an appeal from an order of the Public Service Commission, the Superior Court is the judicial tribunal, charged by the Public Service Company Law with determining, in the first instance, the reasonableness of the rates allowed.</p> <p>4. From the determination of tbe Superior Court in such eases, the Supreme Court, on appeal thereto, acts solely as an appellate court, and considers only alleged errors of law appearing of record and assigned as error, exactly as in other cases of appeal thereto.</p> <p>5. Such appeals are to be considered and determined on the same principle as appeals in equity.</p> <p>6. In all appealed cases, unless it is provided otherwise by statute, only alleged errors of law are considered by the Supreme Court.</p> <p>7. If there is substantial evidence to sustain a fact alleged to have been erroneously found, the finding must be sustained; but if there is not such evidence it must be reversed, for, in that event, it was an error of law to have found it.</p> <p>8. This is so even where the finding depends on the testimony of witnesses whom the court did not see.</p> <p>Public service companies — Bates—Value of property — Q-oingconcern — Brokerage — Appeals to Superior Court — Discretion — Abuse.</p> <p>9. In determining the value of the property of a utility company, for the purpose of fixing its rates, a reasonable allowance sh