Village of Grafton v. Ohio Edison Co.

77 Ohio St. 3d 102
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 13, 1996
DocketNo. 95-572
StatusPublished
Cited by3,715 cases

This text of 77 Ohio St. 3d 102 (Village of Grafton v. Ohio Edison Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Village of Grafton v. Ohio Edison Co., 77 Ohio St. 3d 102 (Ohio 1996).

Opinions

Per Curiam.

Appellants pose three propositions of law, arguing that the Miller Act prevents Grafton from terminating Ohio Edison’s service to Design and Rite Aid without commission approval For the reasons that follow, we hold that the Miller Act does not prevent Grafton from forcing Ohio Edison to abandon the Design and Rite Aid electric lines.

In order to obtain summary judgment, the movant must show that (1) there is no genuine issue of material fact; (2) the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law; and (3) it appears from the evidence that reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion when viewing evidence in favor of the nonmoving party, and that conclusion is adverse to the nonmoving party. State ex rel. Cassels v. Dayton City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. (1994), 69 Ohio St.3d 217, 219, 631 N.E.2d 150, 152. This court has complete and independent power of review as to all questions of law. MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. Pub. Util. Comm. (1988), 38 Ohio St.3d 266, 268, 527 N.E.2d 777, 780; Indus. Energy Consumers of Ohio Power Co. v. Pub. Util. Comm. (1994), 68 Ohio St.3d 559, 563, 629 N.E.2d 423, 426. There are no questions of fact in the case now before us, as Ohio Edison acknowledges that it erected the service lines to Design and Rite Aid several years after its nonexclusive franchise with Grafton had expired. Thus, the determination of whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment below involves only questions of law and is considered on a de novo basis. Id.

This case involves the interrelationship between the Miller Act, R.C. 4905.20 and 4905.21; the Certified Territory Act, R.C. 4933.81 through 4933.90; and a municipality’s power to control utilities within its municipal limits, Section 4, Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution.

[106]*106Under Section 4, Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution, Grafton had constitutional authority to build and operate a municipal utility to serve its inhabitants. Wooster v. Graines (1990), 52 Ohio St.3d 180, 181, 556 N.E.2d 1163, 1164. This right is not generally subject to statutory restriction. Lucas v. Lucas Local School Dist. (1982), 2 Ohio St.3d 13, 2 OBR 501, 442 N.E.2d 449; Columbus v. Pub. Util. Comm. (1979), 58 Ohio St.2d 427, 12 O.O.3d 361, 390 N.E.2d 1201; Columbus v. Ohio Power Siting Comm. (1979), 58 Ohio St.2d 435, 12 O.O.3d 365, 390 N.E.2d 1208.

However, municipal utility operations are subject to statewide police power limitations for health and safety reasons. See Canton v. Whitman (1975), 44 Ohio St.2d 62, 73 O.O.2d 285, 337 N.E.2d 766; Delaware Cty. Bd. of Commrs. v. Columbus (1986), 26 Ohio St.3d 179, 184, 26 OBR 154, 158-159, 497 N.E.2d 1112, 1117; Columbus v. Teater (1978), 53 Ohio St.2d 253, 260-261, 7 O.O.3d 410, 414, 374 N.E.2d 154, 159. Moreover, the Miller Act requires municipalities to obtain commission approval before forcing the abandonment of nonmunicipal utility facilities or the withdrawal of nonmunicipal utility services located inside the municipality. State ex rel. Klapp v. Dayton Power & Light Co. (1967), 10 Ohio St.2d 14, 39 O.O.2d 9, 225 N.E.2d 230; State ex rel. Wear v. Cincinnati & Lake Erie RR. Co. (1934), 128 Ohio St. 95, 190 N.E. 224. Thus, under the Miller Act, a municipality generally must seek commission approval before forcing a utility to stop serving customers or to abandon its electric lines inside the municipal limits. Id.

However, Grafton asserts that the Miller Act does not apply in this case because the Design and Rite Aid service lines are service lines for individual customers and not a “main” electric line and because Ohio Edison improperly initiated service to Design and Rite Aid after expiration of the nonexclusive franchise. Grafton is correct only on the second ground. We discussed Grafton’s first issue in detail in State ex rel. Toledo Edison v. Clyde (1996), 76 Ohio St.3d 508, 668 N.E.2d 498, holding that the Miller Act applies to the forced abandonment of or withdrawal of service over all electric lines, regardless of size. However, for the reasons set forth below, we find that the Miller Act does not apply in this case because Ohio Edison wrongfully initiated service to Design and Rite Aid.

The Miller Act focuses upon protecting existing utility customers from having their service terminated without commission approval. E. Ohio Gas Co. v. Cleveland (1922), 106 Ohio St. 489, 508-509, 140 N.E. 410, 416. This protection extends to situations where the utility franchise has expired (Lake Shore Elec. Ry. Co. v. State ex rel. Martin [1932], 125 Ohio St. 81, 180 N.E. 540) and even where the service was provided without any franchise contract (Wear, supra, 128 Ohio St. 95, 190 N.E. 224). However, the Miller Act does not create any right in [107]*107a public utility to expand its customer base after its franchise expires to serve unknown, future customers inside a municipality that has created and is operating its own municipal utility. State ex rel. Toledo Edison, supra, 76 Ohio St.3d at 517, 668 N.E.2d at 506-507.

Grafton argues that Ohio Edison’s extension of service to Design and Rite Aid was wrongful and violated Grafton’s exclusive right to provide utility service to its inhabitants. Grafton is correct.

Ohio Edison was never granted a village-wide franchise to serve Grafton’s inhabitants. From their inception, Ohio Edison’s franchises were limited to maintaining a transmission and distribution system-within Grafton, to serving only specific customers (or their successors and assigns), and to transporting electricity through Grafton for use solely outside Grafton. Thus, Ohio Edison had no right under its franchises to extend service to additional customers inside Grafton’s municipal limits, including service to Design or Rite Aid.

Moreover, Grafton had the right to create a municipal utility monopoly inside Grafton and exclude Ohio Edison from serving Grafton’s inhabitants. See State ex rel. Toledo Edison, supra, 76 Ohio St.3d at 517, 668 N.E.2d at 506-507. This position stems from an exclusive grant of power to municipalities in Section 4, Article XVIII of the Ohio Constitution. Id. at 516, 668 N.E.2d at 506, citing Lucas, supra, 2 Ohio St.3d at 16, 2 OBR at 504, 442 N.E.2d at 452. This exclusive power is also recognized in the Certified Territory Act. R.C. 4933.83(A) and 4933.87.

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

Related

Cleveland v. Colby
2022 Ohio 4207 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2022)
Buonopane v. M. Co., Ltd.
2022 Ohio 4210 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2022)
Tharp v. Whirlpool
2018 Ohio 1344 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
McBride v. Butler
2018 Ohio 1251 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
Talarek v. Walls
2018 Ohio 1174 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
Tanglewood Shopping Ctr., L.L.C. v. Riser Foods Co.
2018 Ohio 1183 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
LublinSussman Group, L.L.P. v. Lee
2018 Ohio 666 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
McCarthy v. Family Dollar Stores of Ohio, Inc.
2018 Ohio 598 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
O'Loughlin v. Ottawa St. Condominium Assn.
2018 Ohio 327 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
Levy v. Huener
2018 Ohio 119 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2018)
Wal-Mart Realty Co. v. Tri-Commons Assocs., L.L.C.
2017 Ohio 9280 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
M&T Bank v. Bozickovich
2017 Ohio 9101 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
Williams v. Portage Country Club Co.
2017 Ohio 8986 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
Founders Ins.Co. v. Gurung
2017 Ohio 8983 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
Swan Super Cleaners, Inc. v. Franklin Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs
2017 Ohio 8978 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
Springdale v. Tri-Cty. Commons Assocs., L.L.C.
2017 Ohio 8380 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
Wolf v. Cleveland Div. of Police
2017 Ohio 7889 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)
GMAC Bank v. Bradac
2017 Ohio 7888 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
77 Ohio St. 3d 102, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/village-of-grafton-v-ohio-edison-co-ohio-1996.