St. Clair Borough v. Tamaqua & Pottsville Elec. Ry. Co.

Citations

• 259 Pa. 462
• 103 A. 287

Syllabus

<p>Jurisdiction, G. P. — Public Service Commission — Complaint— Street railways — ■Change of mies — Reasonableness—Boroughs— Contracts — Bill in equity — Dismissal—Findings of Public Service Commission — Appeal—Practice, C. P. — Act of July 26, 1918, P. L. 187^ — Trial by jury.</p> <p>1. Since the Act of July 26, 1913, P. L. 1374, matters within the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission, including the reasonableness of rates charged by public service corporations, must first be determined by it, in every instance, before the courts will adjudge any phase of the controversy.</p> <p>2. The decision of the Public Service Commission on the subject of rates is .subject to review, and the courts are vested with the right and fixed with the duty of passing upon the record brought up on appeal, which record shall include the testimony, the findings of facts, if any, of the commission based upon such testimony, a copy of all orders made by the Commissicn in said proceedings, and a copy of the opinion, if any, filed by the commission.</p> <p>3. In cases where,the parties had a right to trial by jury before the Act of 1913, such right is still preserved to them.</p> <p>4. It is the duty of the reviewing court, if it shall find from the record that an order of the Public Service Commission appealed from is unreasonable, or based upon incompetent evidence materially affecting the determination or order of the commission, or is otherwise not in conformity with law, to enter a final decree reversing the order of the commission, or, in its discretion, to remand the record to the commission with directions to reconsider.</p> <p>5. The fact that no complaint is made to the Public Service Commission when an application for a change of rate is filed with that body, does not prevent any person affected thereby from subsequently entering a complaint.</p> <p>6. Where a contract fixing a rate unlimited in time has been entered into by a public service company with a borough prior t