Public Service Commission v. Indiana Bell Telephone Co.

108 N.E.2d 889, 232 Ind. 332, 1953 Ind. LEXIS 206
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedJune 5, 1953
Docket28,913
StatusPublished
Cited by41 cases

This text of 108 N.E.2d 889 (Public Service Commission v. Indiana Bell Telephone Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Public Service Commission v. Indiana Bell Telephone Co., 108 N.E.2d 889, 232 Ind. 332, 1953 Ind. LEXIS 206 (Ind. 1953).

Opinions

ON MOTION TO DISMISS

Draper, J.

The Marion Circuit Court rendered a final judgment permanently enjoining the appellants from interfering, or attempting to interfere with the charging of rates and the collection of revenues by the appellee company in accordance with a certain approved schedule, until the appellants should, in the manner provided by law, establish and authorize reasonable and non-confiscatory rates for the appellee’s intrastate services.

Appellants’ motion for new trial, which asserted the insufficiency of the evidence and the illegality of the decision, was overruled, and this appeal was perfected.

Appellants’ assignment of error reads as follows:

“1. The Court erred in its conclusion of law numbered 1.

“2. The Court erred in its conclusion of law numbered 2.

“3. The Court erred in its conclusion of law being subdivision ‘a’ of its conclusion of law numbered 3.

“4. The Court erred in its conclusion of law being subdivision ‘b’ of its conclusion of law numbered 3.

“5. The Court erred in its conclusion of law being subdivision ‘c’ of its conclusion of law numbered 3.

“6. The Court erred in its conclusion of law being subdivision ‘d’ of its conclusion of law numbered 3.

“7. The Court erred in its conclusion of law being subdivision ‘e’ of its conclusion of law numbered 3.

“8. The Court erred in its conclusion of law being subdivision ‘f of its conclusion of law numbered 3.

[337]*337“9. The.Court erred in overruling appellants’ motion for new trial.”

The appellee filed its motion to dismiss this appeal, assigning several grounds in support of said motion. It first insists that appellants’ ninth assignment of error presents no question for the consideration of this court because certain exhibits introduced in evidence at the trial are not in the record, so that the bill of exceptions containing the evidence is not complete, and further because the bill of exceptions containing the evidence is not properly and sufficiently certified by the trial court.

If these assertions are true, the court cannot consider any question the answer to which requires a consideration of the evidence, and appellants’ ninth assignment of error is unavailing. But appellants’ failure to properly present to this court the questions raised by the ninth assignment of error is not jurisdictional. A dismissal of the appeal would not be justified, if for no other reason than that other questions, not depending upon a consideration of the evidence, would remain here for disposition. Appellants’ further failure to brief the questions raised by said assignment of error would operate only as a waiver of those questions under Rule 2-17 (f).

The appellee next asserts the insufficiency of the appellants’ brief in that the complaint is not set out therein in full, and further that the brief is not so constructed as to comply with Rule 2-17 of this court, or to show a good faith effort to comply therewith. If this is true, the penalty would be affirmance of the judgment rather than the dismissal of the appeal. Defects in the brief do not go to the jurisdiction of this court, but rather have the effect of preventing a consideration of the matters which are not successfully presented. The appellee cites Crousore v. Crawley [338]*338(1943), 113 Ind. App. 529, 48 N. E. 2d 834, and Freeman v. Cangany (1944), 222 Ind. 282, 52 N. E. 2d 839, in support of its assertion that the appeal should be dismissed, but in each of those cases the judgment of the lower court was affirmed. The appeal was not dismissed.1

Burns’ Stat., §54-111 provides for the appointment of a public counselor and outlines his duties. They are, generally speaking, to appear for and represent the interests of ratepayers, patrons, and the public at hearings before the public service commission; in appeals from the orders of said .commission; and in all suits and actions in any court in which the commission is a party and which may involve rates for service and other matters affecting public utilities and the public.

The record here shows that during the pendency of this action in the court below Walter F. Jones, Jr., public counselor of Indiana, filed his written petition to intervene. The petition does not request that the public counselor be permitted to intervene as a party, either plaintiff or defendant, or that he be permitted to inter[339]*339vene for any specified purpose. It merely asks leave to intervene pursuant to Burns’ Stat., §54-104, which had already been repealed and superseded by Burns’ Stat., §54-111, neither of which sections purport to authorize the public counselor to appear in pending litigation as a party thereto.

The record shows no objection and the petition was sustained. The public counselor thereafter participated in the proceedings, and later filed a motion for new trial, but he was not named as a party in appellants’ assignment of errors, nor has he attempted to file an assignment of errors or perfect a separate appeal. He did sign the assignment of errors filed by the appellants as one of the attorneys for appellants.

It is appellee’s contention that the public counselor should have been named in the assignment of errors as a party to this appeal, and this asserted defect of parties is advanced as a ground for dismissing this appeal. Rule 2-6 in part provides: “In the title to the assignment of errors all parties to the judgment seeking relief by the appeal shall be named as appellants, and all parties to the jtidgment whose interests are adverse to the interest of the appellants shall be named as appellees.” (Emphasis supplied.)

The public counselor was not a party to the judgment. The only judgment entered was a judgment against the commission enjoining it from interfering with the rates and charges approved by the court. The court here has before it all the parties to the judgment below. In Rogowski v. Kaelin (1942), 111 Ind. App. 584, 41 N. E. 2d 954, relied upon by appellee to sustain its position, the appellant failed to name in his assignment of errors any of his co-defendants below, all of whom were parties to the judgment. Voss v. Balz (1932), 203 Ind. 221, 179 N. E. 552, also relied [340]*340upon, was also a case in which the appellant failed to name parties to the judgment in the assignment of errors. Greek Orthodox Church v. Alexander (1927), 199 Ind. 528, 151 N. E. 1, 156 N. E. 545, merely holds that where a judgment denies relief to intervenors, and requires or forbids certain actions on their part, they are proper parties appellant.

■ The appellee filed its motion to dismiss this appeal and its brief in support thereof on July .8, 1952. The appellants filed their brief in opposition to said motion on August 14, 1952. The appellee moves to strike the appellants’ brief from the files for the reason it came too late under the rules.

Rule 2-15, which has to do with the time allowed for filing briefs, does not limit the time within which an appellant’s brief in answer to a motion and brief to dismiss an appeal may be filed. The rules do not provide that appellant’s failure to file such a brief within any particular time shall be ground for striking such brief from the files.

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Bluebook (online)
108 N.E.2d 889, 232 Ind. 332, 1953 Ind. LEXIS 206, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/public-service-commission-v-indiana-bell-telephone-co-ind-1953.