City of Seattle v. Puget Sound Traction, Light & Power Co.

Citations

• 103 Wash. 41
• 174 P. 464
• 1918 Wash. LEXIS 1075

Syllabus

<p>Street Railways — Franchises—Power of Cities. Rem. Code, § 7507, providing that cities may authorize or prohibit and prescribe terms for the location of street railways upon the city streets, is a specific grant of power to impose franchise terms and conditions for such use of its streets.</p> <p>Same — Discrimination'—City Tax. The fact that one city imposes no tax upon street railway use of its streets, does not prevent another city from doing so, on the theory that it would be unlawful discrimination.</p> <p>Same — Regulation of Rates — Power of Public Service Commission — Franchises—Abrogation. The public service commission law, Rem. Code, § 8626-53, conferring power upon the public service commission to deal with questions of safety, efficiency, rates and service of street railway companies, does not confer power to abrogate franchise provisions theretofore imposed by cities under the authority of Rem. Code, § 7507, subd. 7.</p> <p>Municipal Corporations — Torts — Damages — Acts in Governmental Capacity — Enforcing Void Ordinance. A city in enforcing an invalid ordinance with respect to street railway fares, acts in its governmental capacity, and is therefore not liable to the company for losses thereby sustained pending litigation that resulted in declaring the ordinance void.</p> <p>Set-off and Counterclaim — Damages ■ — • Matters Not Embraced in Complaint. In an action by a city to recover two per cent of the earnings of a street railway company under its franchise, a claim for damages because of the city’s enforcement of a void ordinance with respect to fares, is not a proper subject of counterclaim; since it does not relate to the subject-matter of the action or arise out of contract.</p> <p>Street Railways — Franchises ■ — • Action to Recover Tax — Defenses. It is no defense to an action against a street railway company to recover two per cent of its earnings during the year 1916, that the company was damaged by the city’s requiring the company to sell