Patterson v. Ohio River Power

• Court: Ohio Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: MATTHIAS, J.
• Citation: Patterson v. Ohio River Power, 124 N.E. 246, 99 Ohio St. 429 (Ohio 1919)
• Decision Date: 29 April 1919
• Docket Number: 16175
• Parties: The Patterson Foundry & Machine Co. v. The Ohio River Power Co.

124 N.E. 246

99 Ohio St. 429

The Patterson Foundry & Machine Co. v. The Ohio River Power Co.

16175

Supreme Court of Ohio

April 29, 1919

Act of legislature - Date of passage defined - Effect of postponing date of operation - Public utilities commission act - Contracts for service controlled thereby, when.

1.

The date of the passage of an act is the date of the last action required to complete the process of legislation and give the bill the force of law.

2.

Where a future time is named in an act when it shall become effective, it will speak and operate only from that time unless a different intention is manifested.

3.

The public utilities act (102 O. L., 549) was passed June 14 1911, and any contract for service entered into by a public utility and its patron subsequent to that date is subject to the supervision of the public utilities commission, and is not binding and enforceable in so far as it conflicts with the rates established through the commission.

The plaintiff in error was plaintiff, and defendant in error was defendant, in the court of appeals, and will be hereafter referred to as plaintiff and defendant respectively.

From the pleadings and the evidence the court of appeals found the following facts:

"Plaintiff is a manufacturing company located at the City of East Liverpool, Ohio, using in its business both light and power.

"Defendant is a public utility company, also located at the City of East Liverpool, Ohio, and is engaged in the business of producing and selling electric light and power, under a franchise granted by said City of East Liverpool, and is the only public utility engaged in such business at said City of Fast Liverpool.

"Prior to the 30th day of June, 1911, some negotiations and correspondence had passed between The Patterson Foundry & Machine Company and The Tri-State Railway & Electric Company, a public utility, then furnishing electric light and power in East Liverpool under a franchise granted by the city; and on the 30th day of June, 1911, these parties entered into a contract in writing whereby The Tri-State Railway & Electric Company agreed to apply electric power to the Patterson Company for the purpose of propelling certain electric motors at its plants, at certain rates stipulated in said contract. This contract was for a period of two years with the.privilege on the part of the Patterson Company of renewing it for an additional ten year term. This privilege was afterwards exercised by the Patterson Company and said contact by its terms does not expire until June 10th, 1923.

"Thereafter, as soon as electric motors could be obtained, the Patterson Company took out its steam equipment and installed electric motors in its plants as provided in said contract and has ever since operated said plants exclusively with electric power furnished by said Tri-State Company and its successors in the ownership and operation of the local franchises; that the Tri-State Company was a lessee company and some time after said contract passed into the hands of receivers appointed by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, and the property and franchises of said company were afterwards returned to its lessor, The East Liverpool Traction & Light Company, by order of said court, but with the express condition that The East Liverpool Traction & Light Company should assume and carry out all existing contracts of said Tri-State Company; that the contract in question in this case was carried out without question, first, by said Tri-State Company as long as it was in charge, and thereafter by The East Liverpool Traction & Light Company, as long as it continued to own said property, to-wit, for about six years; that on the first day of February, 1917, The East Liverpool Traction & Light Company sold its lighting and power properties, including its local franchise, to The Ohio River Power Company, the defendant in error; that one of the conditions of said sale was that said defendant in error should carry out and perform all outstanding contracts for which The Eat Liverpool Traction & Light Company was then obligated.

"In the month of June, 1917, defendant requested plaintiff to pay for its electric light and power according to the schedule of rates then on file with the Public Utilities Commission, which rates were then higher than the rates provided for in said contract.

"Plaintiff refused to pay for its electric light and power according to the rates then on file with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, claiming that it should pay according to the rates provided for in said contract.

"Defendant then notified plaintiff that defendant would furnish light and power to plaintiff for the month of June, 1917, and thereafter, at the rates on file with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio and not at the rates named in said contract, and that if plaintiff would not pay according to the rates on file with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, defendant would discontinue furnishing electric light and power to plaintiff and would disconnect the electric lines to plaintiff's manufacturing plant.

"The Patterson Company is an extensIve manufacturer of steel and iron products, operating two plants in the City of East Liverpool. Said plants are equipped for the use of electric power only. The defendant in error is the only source supplying such power in said city and the Patterson Company could not replace its electric with steam power without much delay and great loss and expense."

The court of appeals held that said contract entered into...