Lange v. Standard Telephone Co.

533 S.E.2d 162, 243 Ga. App. 301, 2000 Fulton County D. Rep. 1851, 2000 Ga. App. LEXIS 449
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMarch 30, 2000
DocketA99A2089
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 533 S.E.2d 162 (Lange v. Standard Telephone Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lange v. Standard Telephone Co., 533 S.E.2d 162, 243 Ga. App. 301, 2000 Fulton County D. Rep. 1851, 2000 Ga. App. LEXIS 449 (Ga. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinions

Blackburn, Presiding Judge.

In this class action suit regarding alleged overcharging for telecommunications services, Deborah A. J. Lange, Lange Machinery, Inc., and Marcia L. Rheinschilds appeal from the trial court’s order dismissing their suit against Standard Telephone Company, Sprint Communications, L.P., MCI Telecommunications Corporation, and BellSouth Telecommunications, Inc. For reasons that follow, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal.

In their class action, the plaintiffs asserted violations of: (1) OCGA § 46-2-25.1 because the defendants allegedly charged for telephone calls between two telephones within the same county and (2) OCGA § 46-2-25.2 because the defendants allegedly charged for telephone calls between two telephones within sixteen miles of one another. The plaintiffs’ complaint alleged that their grounds specifically included “For A First Cause of Action (OCGA §§ 46-2-25.1; 46-2-25.2)” and “For A Second Cause Of Action (OCGA § 46-2-90).”

In its order granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss, the trial court concluded:

that neither statute [OCGA § 46-2-25.1 nor § 46-2-25.2] imposes any duties or obligations on telecommunications providers or prohibits the same from engaging in any act thereby creating a private cause of action for their violations of the same. Instead, said statutes impose duties on and govern the conduct of the Public Service Commission.

In addition, the trial court further found that the plaintiffs failed to set forth a valid cause of action under OCGA § 46-2-90, explaining:

OCGA § 46-2-90 provides that “any company under the jurisdiction of the [PSC] (which) does, causes to be done, or permits to be done any act which is prohibited, forbidden, or declared to be unlawful, or (which) fails to do any act which is required either by a law of this state or by an order of the [PSC] . . . shall be liable . . . for all loss, damage, or injury caused thereby or resulting therefrom” in an action to recover the same brought in any court of competent jurisdiction. However, . . . [p]laintiffs have failed to cite to any affirmative act undertaken by the [defendants which is prohibited, forbidden, or unlawful. In addition, [p]laintiffs have failed to cite any failure of the [defendants to do an act required of them by Georgia law or by an order of the PSC.

[302]*302In this appeal, the plaintiffs erroneously contend that the trial court’s reasoning was faulty and that it erred by concluding (1) that OCGA §§ 46-2-25.1 and 46-2-25.2 did not impose any duties or obligations upon telecommunication providers, a violation of which would give rise to a cause of action under OCGA § 46-2-90; and (2) “that there [was] no state of facts that could be proved in support of appellants’ claims which would entitle them to relief.”

1. OCGA § 46-2-90 provides:

If any company under the jurisdiction of the commission does, causes to be done, or permits to be done any act which is prohibited, forbidden, or declared to be unlawful, or fails to do any act which is required either by a law of this state or by an order of the commission, such company shall be liable to the persons affected thereby for all loss, damage, or injury caused thereby or resulting therefrom. An action to recover for such loss, damage, or injury may be brought in any court of competent jurisdiction by any such person. In case of recovery, if the jury finds that such act or failure to act was willful, it may fix a reasonable attorney’s fee, which shall be taxed and collected as part of the costs of the case.

Plaintiffs assert that the defendants’ alleged violations of OCGA §§ 46-2-25.1 and 46-2-25.2 bring this case within the ambit of OCGA § 46-2-90. These statutes, however, are directed at the conduct of the PSC, not telecommunications providers.

OCGA § 46-2-25.1 provides:

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, . . . the commission shall not approve any rate schedule which authorizes a. long-distance charge for calls between two telephones within the same county. Where two or more telephone companies operate in the same county, each company shall provide county-wide local calling to and from telephones within the area served by the other company or companies in the county. . . .
(b) All rate schedules approved pursuant to this Code section may be modified at the discretion of the commission upon a good and sufficient showing of geographic, economic, or technological infeasibility by a telephone company.
(c) All rate schedules approved pursuant to this Code section shall take into account [various factors].
(d) The commission shall . . . implement a plan [to expand toll-free calling].
(e) Any plan to implement county-wide local calling [303]*303shall be subject to the approval of the commission. . . .
(f) The commission shall be authorized to consider and adopt alternative forms of regulation. . . .
(g) Nothing in this Code section shall be interpreted as amending, modifying, or repealing Code Section 46-2-23, relating to the rate-making power of the commission generally and special provisions concerning telecommunications companies.

Because this statute is clearly directed at the conduct of the PSC, plaintiffs cannot rely upon it to demonstrate that the telecommunications defendants performed an act that was “prohibited, forbidden, or declared to be unlawful” within the meaning of OCGA § 46-2-90.

2. The language of OCGA § 46-2-25.2 also demonstrates that it is directed at the conduct of the PSC, not telecommunications providers. It states:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Rader v. Levenson
659 S.E.2d 655 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2008)
Ray v. Scottish Rite Children's Medical Center, Inc.
555 S.E.2d 166 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2001)
Lange v. Standard Telephone Co.
533 S.E.2d 162 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
533 S.E.2d 162, 243 Ga. App. 301, 2000 Fulton County D. Rep. 1851, 2000 Ga. App. LEXIS 449, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lange-v-standard-telephone-co-gactapp-2000.