Wiemer v. Louisville Water Co.

Citations

• 130 F. 251
• 1903 U.S. App. LEXIS 5259

Syllabus

<p>1. Water Companies — Duties—Discrimination between Consumers.</p> <p>A water company chartered for the purpose of supplying a city and its inhabitants with water is a quasi public corporation, and it is its duty to supply water to all who apply therefor and offer to pay the rates, without discrimination.</p> <p>2. Same — Construction oe Charter.</p> <p>A water company chartered for the purpose of supplying a city “and its inhabitants” with water is not justified in arbitrarily refusing to supply water to one who is engaged in the business of street sprinkling in the city, and who has contracted with owners of property therein to sprinkle the streets in front of their respective lots, on the ground that the contractor himself is not an “inhabitant” of the city, nor because the water for such purpose is not supplied directly from its pipes to the inhabitants for whose benefit it is to be used.</p> <p>3. Same.</p> <p>A water company has no right to refuse to supply water to one who applies therefor in good faith, and is able and willing to pay the rates charged, on the ground that in making his application he failed to comply with certain technical rules, without giving him the opportunity to supply alleged omissions or informalities in his application, and where, under substantially similar circumstances, water is furnished to a business competitor of such applicant</p> <p>4. Same.</p> <p>It is the province of a water company to supply water impartially to its customers, and it is not charged with any duty nor given the power to direct its use after its delivery, nor to make rules regulating its use on the streets, or to prevent nuisances thereon, which is a function of the municipal government.</p> <p>5. Federal Courts — State Laws as Rules or Decision.</p> <p>A decision of the highest court of a state denying a writ of mandamus to compel certain action on the part of a water company is not an authoritative adjudication of the statutory duties and powers of the co