City of Plymouth v. City of Detroit

344 N.W.2d 291, 130 Mich. App. 155
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 13, 1983
DocketDocket No. 61395
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 344 N.W.2d 291 (City of Plymouth v. City of Detroit) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Plymouth v. City of Detroit, 344 N.W.2d 291, 130 Mich. App. 155 (Mich. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

Per Curiam.

Plaintiffs, a class composed of 77 municipalities which purchase water from the defendant City of Detroit, appeal from the trial judge’s December 2, 1981, order dismissing their action for breach of defendant’s contracts with them for the sale of water.

On May 1, 1976, defendant put new water rates into effect which increased the old rates by 39% for customers both inside and outside of Detroit. The rates were to remain in effect until January 1, 1981. Plaintiffs argue that the increase, as it relates to them, violates a provision in defendant’s contracts with 67 of the 77 plaintiff municipalities to the effect that the rates charged them shall always be reasonable in relation to the costs incurred by the City of Detroit for the supply of water.1 The trial consisted largely of expert testimony regarding the proper allocation between [158]*158suburban use and intracity use of the costs of the system as a whole and the investment in the entire system; the amount of net revenue derived from the suburban users and the intracity users, respectively; and the reasonableness of the rate of return on the investment in the share of the system which serves the suburbs.

Plaintiffs argues at trial that, because the rate of return from intracity users was negative, the positive rate of return on the investment devoted to suburban use was unreasonable per se because it supported or subsidized the rates charged intracity users. The trial judge concluded in his written opinion that there is no theory justifying examination of the relative rates of return of the two classes of users and that therefore the only question was the reasonableness of the rate of return on the share of the system’s investment devoted to suburban use. The trial judge determined that the rate of return on suburban investment was between 8% and 9% and that he could not say that this rate was unreasonable where the evidence showed that regulated utilities in Michigan were allowed higher rates during the same period.

Plaintiffs’ first contention on appeal is that the trial judge failed to reach the question of whether defendant breached the "reasonable in relation to costs” provision in the contracts, but instead concluded erroneously that defendant’s power over the rates charged its suburban customers is legislative in nature. Plaintiffs’ argument is unfounded.

The trial judge did note in his opinion that the setting of rates is a legislative matter and that the courts will not interfere unless the rate is arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable. See Detroit v Highland Park, 326 Mich 78, 92; 39 NW2d 325 (1949). The trial judge, however, cited Highland [159]*159Park in support of his conclusion that a greater rate of return on suburban sales than on city sales is not improper.

The same reason lies behind the trial judge’s citation of Meridian Twp v East Lansing, 342 Mich 734; 71 NW2d 234 (1955). After concluding that these two cases demonstrate that there is no theory justifying a comparison of the rates of return of intercity and intracity rates, the trial judge then stated that the only question is whether defendant’s rate of return on the investment devoted to its suburban customers "is so unreasonable as to make the rate unreasonable”.

Although the parties disagreed over whether the suburban rate of return should be compared with the city rate of return, they did agree that the reasonableness of the rates in relation to costs depends upon the reasonableness of the rate of return. Thus, the trial judge specifically considered whether the rates were reasonable in relation to costs under the contracts in question.

In a related matter, defendant argues that any water rates charged by defendant to its suburban customers are reasonable as a matter of law if they fall within the minimum and maximum standards set by 1917 PA 34, MCL 123.141; MSA 5.2581. At all times pertinent to the instant case, this section provided as follows:

"Municipal corporations having authority by law to sell water outside their territorial limits, hereinafter referred to as corporations, may contract for such sale with cities, villages or townships having authority to provide a water supply for their inhabitants, but the price charged shall not be less than nor more than double that paid by consumers within their own territory. The price charged may be more than double that paid by consumers within their own territory if the [160]*160water is delivered to a city, village or township lying outside the county within which the corporations are situated, and lying more than 10 miles beyond the territorial limits of the corporations. Any price charged that is more than double shall bear a reasonable relationship to the service rendered.”2

The uncontroverted evidence at trial showed that no plaintiff was charged as much as twice the price charged consumers within the city.

Defendant bases its contention that MCL 123.141; MSA 5.2581 mandates the conclusion that rates to suburbs which are less than double those charged customers inside the city are reasonable as a matter of law on dicta in Meridian Twp, supra. In that case, the plaintiff argued that the rate it was being charged violated a contractual provision which stated that the "rates shall always be reasonable in relation to the costs incurred by the city for the supply of water”. The majority of the Court stated:

"We note in passing, that the Michigan legislature has clearly, with respect to cities and villages, resolved the competing considerations of exhorbitant rates versus fair profits in CL 1948, § 123.141 (Stat Ann § 5.2581), by providing that the rate charged such outside municipalities shall not be more than double the rate paid by consumers within their own territory. This statute, even if applicable, as to which I express no opinion, has not been offended. The rate charged is not alleged to be greater than double that charged East Lansing consumers within their own territory. * * *

[161]*161"The burden of proof was on the plaintiff to show that the rates charged were, in fact, unreasonable with relation to costs. It has not done so. I find nothing unreasonable in the charges which the city seeks to make, charges which are permissible under the contract, which are well within good accounting practice, and which are, in fact, less than the maximum authorized by the legislature for similar fringe areas.” 342 Mich 748, 753.

The Court did not hold that the statutory provision would have taken precedence over the contractual provision had the statute applied to townships. We conclude that the statute does not render reasonable as a matter of law rates within its maximum and minimum provisions in the face of a contractual provision which states that rates shall be reasonable in relation to costs. Regardless of how the statute reads, defendant has limited its discretion in setting rates by agreeing to the contractual provision.

Thus, the sole question is whether the rates charged were unreasonable in relation to costs. The answer to that question, as recognized by the trial judge, is controlled by the determination of the reasonableness of the rate of return on the investment in the share of the system devoted to suburban use.

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Related

City of Plymouth v. City of Detroit
377 N.W.2d 689 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
344 N.W.2d 291, 130 Mich. App. 155, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-plymouth-v-city-of-detroit-michctapp-1983.