Redlands, Lugonia, & Crafton Domestic Water Co. v. City of Redlands
Redlands, Lugonia, & Crafton Domestic Water Co. v. City of Redlands
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff is engaged in furnishing water to the city of Redlands and its inhabitants for domestic purposes •and for irrigation, and seeks by this action a judgment annulling the ordinance or resolution adopted by the board of trustees •of that city, in February, 1895, fixing the rates to be charged or collected therefor during'the year commencing July 1, 1895, and requiring the board to fix rates therefor “so as to assure an -annual income to the plaintiff sufficient to pay the interest on its indebtedness, its running expenses, taxes, and to pay the •plaintiff’s stockholders a dividend of not less than seven per cent per annum upon the par value of said stock, and also sufficient to keep the works of said plaintiff used in business in repair.”
At the trial of the cause the court found that the plaintiff •had expended the sum of $314,000 in the acquisition of the plant used by it in so furnishing the water; that its capital stock is divided into five thousand shares of the par value of one hundred dollars each, of which two thousand two hundred and sixty shares have been subscribed, and the full amount of $226,000 paid to the plaintiff by the stockholders subscribing "therefor; that the plaintiff has issued its bonds amounting to $75,000, bearing interest at seven per cent per annum, payable semi-annually, all of which are outstanding, and has also executed to various persons its promissory notes, amounting to $19,000, and bearing a like rate of interest, but that it has bills receivable bearing interest, so that the net amount of its annual interest is $5,600; that the maximum amount of revenue from the rates fixed by the ordinance will yield to the plaintiff the sum of $18,158.51, and the minimum amount of said revenue $14,526.40; that the necessary expenditures to be made by it during said year will be as follows: Operating expenses, $5,150; taxes, $1,350; for maintenance and repairs, $1,562.06. Upon these findings the court refused the plaintiff the relief it "sought, and rendered judgment in favor of the defendants. "From this judgment the plaintiff has appealed, bringing the appeal upon the judgment-roll alone, without any bill of exceptions.
Many of the questions involved in this appeal are considered in the case of San Diego Water Co. v. San Diego, 118 Cal. 556,
To authorize a reversal of the judgment appealed from it is
The court finds that the operating expenses, taxes, and cost of maintenance and repairs to be incurred by the plaintiff during the year amount to $8,062.06. Deducting this sum from the minimum amount of revenue which the rates will yield, the plaintiff will receive a net income of $6,464.34, while the maximum amount of this revenue would yield a net income of $10,-096.45. As the value of the plant is an essential element in determining whether either of these amounts will -be a reasonable compensation to the plaintiff for its services, and as there was no averment or showing upon this point before the superior court, we cannot say that it appears from the record that the rates fixed by the ordinance will not yield a fair compensation, or that the court erred in refusing to the plaintiff the relief asked. It cannot be determined as a matter of fact what portion of the maximum amount of this revenue the plaintiff will receive, nor can it be said as a matter of law that it is entitled to receive the maximum amount of whatever rates may be fixed. Neither can it be stated as a proposition of law that the amount which the court finds that it will in either
The judgment is affirmed.
Garoutte, J., Temple, J., and Henshaw, J., concurred.
Van Fleet, J., concurred in the judgment.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- REDLANDS, LUGONIA, AND CRAFTON DOMESTIC WATER COMPANY v. CITY OF REDLANDS
- Cited By
- 9 cases
- Status
- Published
- Syllabus
- Municipal Corporation—Ordinance Fixing- Water Bates—Indebtedness-Interest—Value oe Plant—Capital Stock.—For the purpose of fixing the rates to be charged or collected for furnishing water to the inhabitants of a city, provision should not be made for the bonded or other indebtedness of the company, or of the interest thereon; but ■fbe fair value of the property -which is necessarily used in furnishing the water is the basis upon which to determine the amount of revenue to be provided by the ordinance fixing the rates, which should be the same whether the works are acquired or constructed by the company with its own resources, or with money borrowed from others. The amount of the capital stock paid into the water company by its stockholders, and the amount of its bonded and floating indebtedness, and the interest thereon, are immaterial factors in the question of reasonableness of rates. In.—Percentage upon Stock—Luterests of Public.—It cannot be said that a corporation serving the public is entitled as of right, and without reference to the interests of the public, to realize a given per cent on its capital stock. The rights of the public, as well as those of the stockholders, are to be considered; and the public cannot be subjected to unreasonable rales in order simply that stockholders may earn dividends. The corporation has the right to receive only what, under all the circumstances, is such compensation for the use of its property as will he just both to it and to the public. Id.—Invalidity of Ordinance—Burden of Proof—Record upon Appeal.— In order to establish the invalidiiy of an ordinance fixing water rates, which was regularly adopted and is in proper form, it is incumbent'on the water company to allege and prove in the superior court, and to have incorporated in the record on appeal, the extrinsic facts showing such invalidity; and where the evidence upon which facts are found is not in the record, it must be assumed that it fully supports the findings of fact in support of its validity. Id.—Value of Plant not Shown —Net Income—Support of Findings— Error not Appearing.—Where the value of the piant, which is essential to be shown before the rates fixed can be held unreasonable, is not averred or shown, and the evidence is not returned, it must be assumed that findings showing that a net income will be received, after deducting operating expenses, taxes, and costs of maintenance and repairs, were supported by the evidence, and it cannot be said to appear from the record that the rates fixed by the ordinance will not yield a fair compensation, or that the court did not properly consider all the elements involved in the question of plaintiff's right to any greater compensation than will be received from the rates fixed by the municipal board, or that it erred in refusing to annul the ordinance.