Opinion
Nos. 27917, 27918 and 27919
Decided March 20, 1940.
Appeal — Public Utilities Commission to Supreme Court — No final order — Overruling motion to dismiss appeal from municipal rate ordinance — And motion to vacate order approving ordinance-rate appeal bond — Sections 544, 614-44 et seq. and 12223-2, General Code.
APPEALS from the Public Utilities Commission.
The city of Cleveland filed three appeals in this court from proceedings before the Public Utilities Commission instituted by The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company, The Cleveland Light Power Company, and individuals doing business as Bradley Light, Heating Power Company, wherein appeals were taken from a rate ordinance of that city.
As the decisive question relates to appeal to this court and is common to all these appeals, the facts will be slated only in The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company appeal, which was the first of the three filed in this court.
The council of the city of Cleveland passed an ordinance regulating maximum electric rates in that city for a period of three years.
The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company filed with the Public Utilities Commission a complaint and appeal from the rate ordinance. The commission entered an order approving the bond filed by the illuminating company pursuant to Section 614-45, General Code.
The city filed separate motions to vacate the order of the commission and to dismiss the complaint and appeal of the company, upon the ground that the commission was without jurisdiction of the proceeding and without authority to suspend the ordinance rate, as Sections 614-44 to 614-47, General Code, are unconstitutional and void. The commission overruled both motions, and applications for rehearings were denied. Within the time limited therefor, the city prosecuted an appeal to this court.
The Public Utilities Commission filed in this court a motion to dismiss the appeal of the city, upon the grounds that the orders of the commission upon the last mentioned motions are not "final orders" as defined by Section 12223-2, General Code, from which an appeal may be taken to this court under Section 544, General Code, and that no debatable constitutional question is involved.
Mr. Henry S. Brainard, director of law, and Mr. Spencer W. Reeder, for appellant.
Mr. Thomas J. Herbert, attorney general, and Mr. Kenneth L. Sater, for appellee, Public Utilities Commission.
Mr. Frank M. Cobb and Messrs. Squire, Sanders Dempsey, for appellee, The Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company.
Messrs. Jones, Day, Cockley Reavis, for appellee, The Cleveland Light Power Company
Messrs. Simmons, DeWitt Vilas and Mr. Richard L. McNelly, for appellee, Bradley Light, Heating Power Company.
Since no action thus far taken by the commission in the pending rate appeals constitutes a final order, the appeals in this court are dismissed.
The appeals being premature, no constitutional question is properly before this court.
Appeals dismissed.
WEYGANDT, C.J., DAY, ZIMMERMAN, WILLIAMS, MYERS, MATTHIAS and HART, JJ., concur.