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General Cable Corp. v. Arizona Corp. Commission
Citations: 27 Ariz. App. 386; 555 P.2d 355; 1976 Ariz. App. LEXIS 622Docket: No. 1 CA-CIV 3258
Court: Court of Appeals of Arizona; August 26, 1976; Arizona; State Appellate Court
The Arizona Corporation Commission denied General Cable Corporation's request for a "special rate" during a rate adjustment proceeding initiated by Citizens Utilities Company, which supplies electricity to Mohave County, Arizona. General Cable operates a copper rod mill there and has a 20-year contract with Citizens requiring a minimum monthly power purchase based on a planned pulp mill that was never constructed. Consequently, General Cable's actual power usage fell significantly below the contracted minimum. In June 1972, General Cable complained to the Commission that the rates under the contract were unjust and sought rescission. Following this, in October 1972, General Cable intervened in Citizens' rate adjustment proceeding to request the special rate, proposing to pay half of the standard rate charged to other industrial users. On December 6, 1973, the Commission issued Decision No. 43819, establishing the rate base and return for Citizens but denied all motions from General Cable, including its request for the special rate. General Cable did not request a rehearing for this decision. After Citizens' new rates were approved, General Cable filed a petition for further hearings, arguing that the lack of a formal order denying its rehearing request violated its rights. This petition was dismissed by the Commission on May 29, 1975, leading General Cable to file a complaint in superior court, which was dismissed. The court found that General Cable's failure to seek a rehearing after Decision No. 43819 was decisive, rendering further issues moot. A.R.S. 40-253(B) stipulates that claims from Corporation Commission orders cannot arise unless a rehearing application is submitted before the order's effective date. General Cable did not seek a rehearing after Decision No. 43819, thus precluding it from contesting the order's validity later. General Cable argued that the order did not address its requested relief and that it became aware of the denial only after Citizens' new rates were approved. However, the Commission’s order was found to address all pending matters regarding Citizens’ rate change and indicated that no further orders would be issued. The order explicitly stated that the approved rates would apply from its effective date and rejected all unaddressed motions. General Cable’s subsequent motion for hearings was deemed insufficient as it was filed after the final submission and did not present new evidence. Instead, it challenged the original order’s validity, which should have been raised in a rehearing petition. Consequently, the Commission's dismissal of General Cable's motion was deemed proper. General Cable's superior court complaint was classified as a collateral attack on the Commission’s final decision, barred by A.R.S. 40-252, which affirms the conclusiveness of Commission decisions against such challenges. The trial court correctly dismissed the complaint. Additionally, a raised issue concerning increased fuel costs passed to customers was not formally presented to the Commission, leaving it unaddressed in this ruling. The trial court's dismissal of General Cable’s complaint is affirmed.