Virginia § 56-83 Summary order prohibiting payment of dividends to affiliates

Virginia Statutes

§ 56-83 — Summary order prohibiting payment of dividends to affiliates

Virginia § 56-83

Title 56PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANIES

Ch. 4REGULATION OF RELATIONS WITH AFFILIATED INTERESTS

This text of Virginia § 56-83 (Summary order prohibiting payment of dividends to affiliates) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Va. Code Ann. § 56-83 (2026).

Text

The Commission may, of its own motion, whenever facts of record in any department of the Commission or within its knowledge appear to justify it in so doing, or upon complaint by the Commonwealth, and after reasonable notice, and opportunity to be heard, and upon hearing and consideration, either formal or informal, issue a summary order prohibiting any public service company from declaring or paying any dividend on any common or equity stock in any case in which such dividend or any part thereof would be payable to an affiliated interest as defined in § 56-76, and such summary order may, in case of emergency, be issued under like circumstances as preliminary injunctions are issued by the courts of equity of this Commonwealth, and in either case such summary order so issued may thereafter 

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

The Commission may, of its own motion, whenever facts of record in any department of the Commission or within its knowledge appear to justify it in so doing, or upon complaint by the Commonwealth, and after reasonable notice, and opportunity to be heard, and upon hearing and consideration, either formal or informal, issue a summary order prohibiting any public service company from declaring or paying any dividend on any common or equity stock in any case in which such dividend or any part thereof would be payable to an affiliated interest as defined in § 56-76, and such summary order may, in case of emergency, be issued under like circumstances as preliminary injunctions are issued by the courts of equity of this Commonwealth, and in either case such summary order so issued may thereafter be made permanent, or be modified, or be vacated, after such investigation and hearing as may be proper to satisfy the requirements of due process of law. The jurisdiction of the Commission under this section shall be based upon considerations of public interest, and the summary order herein provided for shall be issued only upon a finding that the declaration or payment of any dividends is, as a matter of fact, inconsistent with the public interest on account of the probability of disabling the public service company from continuing to perform adequately its public duties, or that there is a purpose on the part of such affiliated interest to gain unjust advantage or profit to the probable detriment of the public service company, bondholders, other classes of stockholders, or any others having rights in the premises.