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Penn. Rd. Co. v. P.U.C

Supreme Court of Ohio
Apr 19, 1961
174 N.E.2d 102 (Ohio 1961)

Opinion

No. 36802

Decided April 19, 1961.

Appeal — From Public Utilities Commission to Supreme Court — Notice of appeal — Time for filing — Sixty-day limitation — From denial of rehearing by operation of law — Section 4903.11, Revised Code.

APPEAL from the Public Utilities Commission.

This appeal is from an order in a proceeding before the Public Utilities Commission initiated by a complaint filed with the commission stating that a grade crossing of appellants' tracks at Factory Road in Beavercreek Township, Greene County, constitutes a hazard to public safety and requesting the installation of appropriate crossing protection.

The commission found the crossing to be sufficiently dangerous to require the installation of automatic flasher lights and ordered installation thereof by appellants. That order was journalized on June 20, 1960. The appellants filed an application for a rehearing on July 19, 1960. On August 15, 1960, the commission denied the application. On October 13, 1960, appellants filed their notice of appeal to this court.

The commission has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal on the ground that the appeal was not filed within the time fixed by Section 4903.11, Revised Code, for filing notice of appeal, and that appellants have, therefore, failed to comply with the jurisdictional prerequisite to a hearing on appeal before this court.

Messrs. Bricker, Evatt, Barton, Eckler Niehoff, Mr. Robert H. Bierma and Mr. Cornelius P. Callahan, Jr., for appellants.

Mr. Mark McElroy, attorney general, Mr. Andrew S. Sarisky and Mr. Herbert T. Maher, for appellee.


Section 4903.11, Revised Code, provides:

"No proceeding to reverse, vacate, or modify a final order of the Public Utilities Commission is commenced unless the notice of appeal is filed within 60 days after the date of denial of the application for rehearing by operation of law or of the entry upon the journal of the commission of the order denying an application for rehearing * * *."

Section 4903.10, Revised Code, provides that, "if the commission does not grant or deny such application for rehearing within 20 days from the date of filing thereof, it is denied by operation of law."

On July 25, 1960, the commission issued an order striking the application from the files for failure to have attached thereto an affidavit alleging notice to all parties but, upon discovery that the original application filed with the commission did have such affidavit attached thereto, issued a supplemental order, dated August 15, declaring void the order of July 25 and denying the application for rehearing.

Appellants' application for rehearing, filed July 19, not having been denied by an order of the commission within 20 days, i.e., on or before August 8, became denied "by operation of law" on August 9. The supplemental order issued August 15, 27 days after the application was filed, could not have denied the application which was denied "by operation of law" on August 9, the 21st day after the application was filed.

The notice of appeal to this court not having been filed until October 13, 65 days "after the date of denial of the application for rehearing by operation of law," there was a failure on the part of appellants to perfect their appeal within the time required by Section 4903.11, Revised Code. The filing of notice of appeal within the time prescribed by law is a jurisdictional prerequisite in perfecting an appeal. Finfrock v. Public Utilities Commission, 154 Ohio St. 21; In re Complaint of Weber, 154 Ohio St. 209.

The motion to dismiss the appeal is sustained.

Appeal dismissed.

WEYGANDT, C.J., ZIMMERMAN, TAFT, MATTHIAS, BELL and O'NEILL, JJ., concur.

HERBERT, J., not participating.


Summaries of

Penn. Rd. Co. v. P.U.C

Supreme Court of Ohio
Apr 19, 1961
174 N.E.2d 102 (Ohio 1961)
Case details for

Penn. Rd. Co. v. P.U.C

Case Details

Full title:THE PENNSYLVANIA RD. CO. ET AL., APPELLANTS v. PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION…

Court:Supreme Court of Ohio

Date published: Apr 19, 1961

Citations

174 N.E.2d 102 (Ohio 1961)
174 N.E.2d 102

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