151 Conn. 53 | Conn. | 1963
The plaintiffs are residents of the city of Norwalk who reside outside the limits of the first taxing district and obtain the water they require for domestic consumption and use from facilities maintained by that taxing district, which together with the second taxing district acquired the exclusive right, under legislation adopted in 1929, to service the area in which the plaintiffs live. 20 Spec. Laws 1064, No. 471. On behalf of themselves and other customers similarly situated, the plaintiffs instituted this action, in which their main allegation is that the water rates charged them are substantially higher than those charged customers residing within the first taxing district and are discriminatory and unlawful. The plaintiffs sought to enjoin the district from continuing the discrimination and demanded damages for excess payments made after December 1, 1952. By stipulation, the parties limited the issue at trial to that of liability,
The first taxing district comprises the territory occupied by the old city of Norwalk prior to its consolidation by charter in 1913 with other municipal bodies within the territorial limits of the town of Norwalk to form the present city of Norwalk. 16 Spec. Laws 1038 § 3, 1040 § 4. The district was constituted a body politic and corporate and succeeded to the ownership, control and operation of the waterworks of the old city. 16 Spec. Laws 1041, § 11. The management, operation and expansion of the system are vested in a board of commissioners elected by the electors of the district. 16 Spec. Laws 1041 § 11, 1042 § 13; 21 Spec. Laws 268. The board has the power and authority to make rules and regulations regarding the use and distribution of water and to establish the prices to be paid therefor. 21 Spec. Laws 268. All property and persons liable to taxation in the district are subject to taxation to make up any deficiency when the income from water rents is inadequate to meet the current expenses of the waterworks and the interest on the outstanding indebtedness incurred for these facilities. 16 Spec. Laws 1044, § 17.
Since 1929, the first taxing district, that is, the defendant, has, under an agreement with the second taxing district, had the exclusive right to provide and sell water in the plaintiffs’ area, which is in
There has always been a differential between the rates charged in the inner district and those charged in the outer district. At the time of trial, the inner-district rate was 25 cents per 1000 gallons,
In addition to the facts stated, it was found also that the customers in the inner district are in what constitutes a compact area, where the customer density is much greater than in the outer district. The latter is spread over a much larger terrain, and while there are more customers in the outer district, they are located much farther apart than those in the inner district. The outer district is hilly and rocky as compared to the inner district. The result is that the increased costs of installation, the additional lengths of mains between customers, and the need of pumping facilities make it more expensive to provide and maintain the system and the service in the outer district. Other factors in support of a differential in rates were presented to the court, but a detailed recital of them would unduly lengthen this opinion, and therefore we do not deem it necessary to recount them.
The plaintiffs and the defendant relied on evidence presented by expert witnesses. The plaintiffs’ expert characterized himself as a utility and finan
The main thrust of the plaintiffs’ claim is that it is unlawfully discriminatory to charge a higher rate to nonresidents than to residents. It has been generally held that a municipally owned waterworks supplying water outside its corporate limits may, generally, charge more for that service than it charges the users who reside within the corporate limits. The subject is annotated in 4 A.L.R.2d 595, 598, to which reference may be made. The charge, however, to the customers outside the corporate limits should not be unreasonably high. New Haven v. New Haven Water Co., supra, 412. Proof that there is a rate differential in favor of residents does not establish prima facie that nonresident rates are unreasonable. Faxe v. Grandview, supra, 353. The burden was on the plaintiffs to show that the rates were unreasonable. Souther v. Gloucester, 187 Mass. 552, 556, 73 N.E. 558. It is readily apparent that the trial court gave more credence to the testimony of the defendant’s expert than to that of the plaintiffs’ expert. Conflicts in opinion evidence offered by experts arise frequently in the trial of cases, and the trier has the duty of deciding which to credit. Humphrys v. Beach, 149 Conn. 14, 20, 175 A.2d 363. Upon the record presented to us, we cannot say that it was error for the trial court to conclude that the plaintiffs failed to prove their case.
The defendant filed two special defenses to the complaint in addition to an answer which in effect amounted to a general denial. These defenses alleged that the rates charged the plaintiffs did not produce an unfair or exorbitant return to the defendant and that they were similar in amount to those charged other suburban consumers similarly situated. The court overruled the demurrer to the special defenses. As the plaintiffs alleged that the rates were unreasonable and discriminatory, it was
The foregoing discussion disposes of the issues raised by the appeal. We believe, however, that some comment is warranted on the report submitted to the defendant by its expert, Rudd. This report was a comprehensive analytical survey of the defendant’s facilities and operations, with recommendations for improvement. Prior to the institution of this suit no such survey had been made. The report disclosed that, in Rudd’s opinion, revision in rates for all classes of service in both the outer and inner districts should be made to produce more revenue and to reduce the disparity between the outer- and inner-district charges. He found that the income from the payments made by the city of Norwalk for hydrant service in the inner district was $13,000 less than the expense of this service. No revenue was received for hydrant service in the outer district except for about $2000, paid by the city for this service in the part of the outer district which is within the fourth taxing district. The unreimbursed cost of fire hydrant service in the outer district amounted to over $30,000 in 1958. The unit revenues from the meters for all classes of service in the outer district were 1.54 times those from all classes of service in the inner district. The revision in rates suggested by Rudd would reduce the unit disparity to the point where the unit reve
There is no error.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.