Rey v. New Orleans Gas Light Co.

6 Pelt. 436, 1922 La. App. LEXIS 131
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 19, 1922
DocketNO. 8696
StatusPublished

This text of 6 Pelt. 436 (Rey v. New Orleans Gas Light Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rey v. New Orleans Gas Light Co., 6 Pelt. 436, 1922 La. App. LEXIS 131 (La. Ct. App. 1922).

Opinions

Dinkelspiel; J.

we quote from defendant's brief which we consider is a statement of fact „hown by the pleadings:

"This is e. suit by Lucille C. Hey against Sew Orleans Gas Light Company for damages for cutting off of gas servios.

The petition avers that the defendant entered into an agreement with plaintiff to supply her with gas for cooking and illuminating purposes at her residenoe in the City of New Orleans, end to determine the quantity of gas consumed hy her the said Company installed in the house occupied hy her a prepay meter so constructed and arranged that hy dropping a twenty-five oent piece in a slot in said meter gas to the value of twenty-five (35$) cents could be used; that on October 18, 1931, the agents, employees end representatives of the defendant, acting under orders e.nd in the course of their employment, called at the residence of plaintiff and, after announcing their intention to out off the gas supply end to remove therefrom said prepay meter, upon the refusal of the defendant to permit the removal of said gas meter, they went under the house in 'which petitioner resided and disconnected the pipes through v/hion the gas. flowed or was carried from the supply pipes or mains in the street to eaid meter inside petitioner's residenoe, thereby cutting off.the gas; that the aot of defendant's agents end employees was deliberate, malicious, illegal, without warrant of law, and done -with the intent to cause injury and damage to plaintiff; that plaintiff notified the company of its said employees' action, hut the iefendant refused to reconnect said ¿as; that plaintiff has been seriously damaged' and injured by the defendant in cutting off and depriving her of the use of gas and prayed for damages in the sum of §750.00.

Defendant denied that it nad bntered into any agreement with Lucille 0. Hey, plaintiff herein, for.fthe [438]*438furnishing and supplying cf g:.e for cocking end illuminating purposes. Io ; d:..l Vur-i r.h"5 under do te of January 19, 1913, one ¿Ira. A. Hoy «¡¿.l? ...pplio ticn So it for ¿as servios at the prei..i ¿o? Jo. 304 South Tel-rm-.chus Street, which appllo tier, v/vs uooeptid by defend nt i-nd, in eiocordfnoe therevith, t yreyiv .meter for the purpose of measuring the quantity cf g-s o: noumed installed. It denied ell other allegations of the petition, esespt th?t it 'dmitted thf-t on October 18, 1931, it3 employees, under i bs orders, celled '•■t thr residence . bov= seated for the purpose of cutting off the g--s supply an.l removing said prsp-.y meter, and upon r=fu3..-l -f 1-idy cn the prsmis to permit the removal of slid prepay mater, ditcem.eebed the servios pips under said premises Is-ding to a.-id meter, thereby cutting off sui-:. g. 3 su,.ply. Defendant averred th:t before cutting off the g.ia service cn a. id premises Jo. ¿04 South Jslsmtohus Street, due -a., nd *' a ...ule by it upon the .id lira. A. Rey for p.yj..snt of a balance aue for gas consumía ‘•t s&id premises nd '-rue notification given thf-t upon failure so pey, the gas service would be out off, rnd tht-t it me fully justified in cutting off said service."

Ihe testimony in this case is ¡tore or less admitted.

It is admitted that olein tiff applied to defendant for gr.s service at the residence 304 South Telenmehus Street on e prepay basis,'that the application was accepted and meter installed, that the meter vies a prepay meter and was constructed end arranged that by dropping a. quarter or twenty five cent piece in the slot in said néter, gas to the value of twenty five cents could be used by the applicant; it has been proven that in the latter pi rt of June, 1931, an employee of the defendant called at the premias-, for the purpose of changing the meter;tint he took out meter lío. 31636- and installed therein metsr Jo. 33191; tíu-t cn th'-t ds.y, the raiding of said new meter v¡;.s 449, and a memorandum m-'.de of said reading at the time; thit subsequently, July [439]*43923i . : 1 rxaing of the said meter wes 486 a difference . J71K jujío feet, showing #5339 of gas consumed and thr.t there .■ , --.t the t time only seventy five cents in said meter when the stripper took the money out of ssme; arid subsequently, August 33nd, 1931, ssid meter reading wss 533 or % difference between thet and the prior reading of July 33nd,---of 4300' cubib feet of gas, showing #6.64 of gss consumed and that the meter stripper' found in August only seventy five cents in said prepay meter. Subsequently the defends-nt sent one of its employees Uo said premises about August 29th, 1931, the purpose being to chenge hx the meter, this employee took out arid meter besring Ho. 38191 and installed meter Ho. 49469; the reeding of the-meter 33191 removed on that day was 539, or a difference between thi-t and the reading on August 32nd, 1931, of 1100 cubic feet cf gas, showing §JL.24 gas consumed, the meter xxa'lio. 38191 was nor stripped on the premises but- was taken to the shop of .defendant and turned over to another employee who verified the reading of said meter, stripped the some found no money at £.11 therein. The reading . cf June 39th, July 32nd, August 2Snd end August 39th, showed g-s consumad to the total amount of #13.67, and' the mcney in said meter being only #1.50, left e, balance cf #13.17 due by the plaintiff.

It is further shown thst by letters written on different dates commencing September 15th, 1931 end again on September 33rd, 1921, plaintiff wos informed that unless sii-i bill was paid in three days the meter would be removed; subsequently again on September 38th, 1931, the meter wes ordered removed., plaintiff refusing to permit-the removal of said meter. On October 10th, 1931, a letter '.;vs written to her that unless the bill was paid, service would be di.-.continued; to all these letters plaintiff .cut off ✓ pcia no attention, sc thi t a/ssatit order was issued October 14th, 1931 end on October 13th, 1931, the bill not hs.ving b?sn paid, servios was cut out.

Plaintiff's briaf end in Jure the argument does not [440]*440c-uo;.ni. sh: í .. public service ccrpcr- "ion i3 obliged cc do business on credit or tc r.-r. hr service c.nd then it for p'vr.c.ut /..nd through She entire evidence in -b.sh- If of plaintiff, ;;.:cting from pi-.intiff1 s bri-.f:

"Thor.: is no disput; r^-g--.■ding the f"Otj in chic c'ft and She (¿uestlcn submitted for decision is on; cf l-w."

In s recent c~<>; lidded by the District Ourt ml /. ttsc’y-d ■. s >:. p- rt cf defend-nt1 s brief, is 1 copy of tfcs opinion of the learned Judge, ;hs Honorable Hugh C. Cage, in the r.-,;e cf St'-te sx R-l George .'lontgciuc-.ry, versus hew Orleans O s Light Coir:p>-ny, being Do. 135310, 'which opinion f.nd decision v/e <;uote in full:

"In oammunities living under our modern civilization, especially in ls.rgs cities, there are certain public services, which, in themselves, are natural monopolies, and, whether are so recognized in ls.vz and made monopolies by law, or whether the lav/ ignores end lets the., work out the social or .natural low, they in the end resolve themselves in monopli--s. The service of -.zater to the City did rss'.lve itself into e monopoly, even if it were net mode so by lav. The 'telephone service, if throv/n wide open tc the public, would, and does, in ever;' case wind up in one corporation furnishing che service. A statin railroad ’.vithin a distance, of twenty miles on etch side of it his -- natural monopoly, and if a n-.-'.i one was tc be built within twenty miles, one would die or he absorbed by the ether. The furnishing of gas is a

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6 Pelt. 436, 1922 La. App. LEXIS 131, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rey-v-new-orleans-gas-light-co-lactapp-1922.