Bull Mountain Meadows, LLC v. Frontier Communications Northwest, Inc.

386 P.3d 178, 282 Or. App. 43, 2016 Ore. App. LEXIS 1381
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedNovember 2, 2016
Docket1669; A157250
StatusPublished

This text of 386 P.3d 178 (Bull Mountain Meadows, LLC v. Frontier Communications Northwest, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bull Mountain Meadows, LLC v. Frontier Communications Northwest, Inc., 386 P.3d 178, 282 Or. App. 43, 2016 Ore. App. LEXIS 1381 (Or. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

FLYNN, J.

Petitioner, Bull Mountain Meadows, LLC, seeks judicial review of an order of the Public Utility Commission (PUC), contending that the PUC erred in determining that Frontier Communications Northwest, Inc., a private telecommunications utility, was permitted to charge Bull Mountain $23,872 for the cost of relocating utility poles. Bull Mountain is the developer of a residential subdivision and requested relocation of the utility poles in order to make street improvements along an adjacent public road— improvements that Washington County was requiring Bull Mountain to make as a condition of obtaining land use approval for the subdivision development. Bull Mountain’s complaint against Frontier alleged, among other contentions, that it was acting as the agent of a “public body” when it requested relocation of Frontier’s utilities, and was, therefore, exempt under the terms of Frontier’s tariff from the obligation to pay for the relocation.

We review orders of the PUC to determine whether that body correctly applied the applicable law, whether there is substantial evidence to support its findings, and whether it acted within the scope of its discretion. ORS 756.610(1); ORS 183.482(8). We write to address Bull Mountain’s argument that the PUC erred in rejecting Bull Mountain’s contention that it was acting as the agent of a “public body” when requesting that Frontier move the utility poles, and we affirm.1

We draw the largely undisputed facts from the PUC’s order. Bull Mountain is the developer of a 14-lot single family residential subdivision on SW Bull Mountain Road in Washington County. The county has designated SW Bull Mountain Road to be a “collector street” in its transportation system plan, but the county has not yet widened the road to “collector street” status. When Bull Mountain sought a [46]*46development permit for its subdivision, the county required, as a condition of approval, that Bull Mountain improve half of the adjacent segment of SW Bull Mountain Road to “collector” street standards. Those requirements included dedicating additional right-of-way to permit a wider road and to make the improvements along that additional right-of-way, such as adding “curb and gutter, storm drainage, concrete sidewalk, planter strip and continuous roadway illumination.” In order to make the required improvements, Bull Mountain requested that Frontier move existing poles, cables, and in-ground fiber-optic facilities.

The compensation that a telecommunications utility may charge for services is strictly governed by the utility’s approved rate schedule, or tariff. ORS 759.260(1). Frontier’s tariff that was in effect at the relevant time specified that, when utility facilities were relocated at the request of a customer or “third-party,”

“the entire cost of removing the old and construing the new will be borne by the applicant/customer or others requesting the relocation. Payment for the cost of the change or relocation must be made prior to the change or relocation.”

The tariff provided in a footnote, however, that “[a] third-party request does not include a ‘Public Body’ as defined in [ORS 174.109].”

When Bull Mountain requested relocation of the utilities, Frontier demanded advance payment. Bull Mountain declined, asserting that it was acting as an agent for Washington County and was, thus, a “public body” within the meaning of the tariffs exemption. Frontier disagreed, and Bull Mountain filed this proceeding with the PUC to resolve the dispute.

Citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Vaughn v. First Transit, Inc., 346 Or 128, 135, 206 P3d 181 (2009), the PUC identified two requirements for the existence of an agency relationship: “(1) a manifestation by the principal to the agent that the agent may act on his account, and consent by the agent to so act; and (2) the agent must be subject to the principal’s control.” See Vaughn, 346 Or at 135 (“At common law, ‘agency’ was defined as a relationship [47]*47that ‘results from the manifestation of consent by one person to another that the other shall act on behalf and subject to his control, and consent by the other so to act.’” (Quoting Hampton Tree Farms, Inc. v. Jewett, 320 Or 599, 617, 892 P2d 683 (1995) (emphasis in Vaughn)). The PUC evaluated Bull Mountain’s claim of agency under the two-part standard that it described and found that neither condition had been met:

“Bull Mountain offered no evidence that Washington County intended that Bull Mountain was acting on its behalf when it undertook to widen the street. The street widening was a condition of Bull Mountain’s permit. Bull Mountain was acting on its own behalf when it widened the street, even though the street widening was for the benefit of the county. Similarly, Bull Mountain offered no evidence that it was under the control of the county when it undertook the street widening. Again, the street widening was a condition of Bull Mountain’s permit. If Bull Mountain had decided not to proceed with its subdivision it would not have had to widen the street.”

On review, Bull Mountain renews its argument that it qualifies as an agent of Washington County and, therefore, qualifies as a “public body” within the meaning of the tariffs exemption from charges for the cost of moving the utility poles. Bull Mountain does not challenge the common law agency test under which the PUC evaluated its “public body” claim. Rather, it contends that the PUC’s determination is “premised on erroneous factual assumptions that ignore substantial evidence in the record.” Thus, we consider whether the PUC’s decision that Bull Mountain was not acting as Washington County’s agent is supported by substantial evidence.

We conclude that the record supports the PUC’s determination that Bull Mountain failed to establish the first prong of an agency relationship—that the county manifested to Bull Mountain that Bull Mountain was acting on the county’s behalf—and, therefore, affirm without deciding whether Bull Mountain established the type of “control” necessary to make it the county’s agent. As Vaughn indicates, the consent to an agency relationship must be mutual. 346 Or at 135. The principal’s consent to an agency relationship [48]*48may be shown by an express agreement or it may be implied from the circumstances and from conduct of the parties. Eads v. Borman, 351 Or 729, 736, 277 P3d 503 (2012).2

Here, there is no evidence of an express agreement that Bull Mountain would act as the county’s agent, such as a contract between it and Washington County, but Bull Mountain argues that consent to such an arrangement can be implied from other evidence. Bull Mountain relies on a letter that the county sent to Frontier regarding another subdivision development along SW Bull Mountain Road.

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Related

Eads v. Borman
277 P.3d 503 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2012)
Vaughn v. First Transit, Inc.
206 P.3d 181 (Oregon Supreme Court, 2009)
Badger v. Paulson Investment Co., Inc.
803 P.2d 1178 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1991)
Hampton Tree Farms, Inc. v. Jewett
892 P.2d 683 (Oregon Supreme Court, 1995)

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Bluebook (online)
386 P.3d 178, 282 Or. App. 43, 2016 Ore. App. LEXIS 1381, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bull-mountain-meadows-llc-v-frontier-communications-northwest-inc-orctapp-2016.