This timely appeal arises from the decision of the Belmont County Court of Common Pleas granting appellees’ motion for summary judgment, denying appellant’s motion for partial summary judgment, and dismissing appellants’ complaint. Fоr all of the following reasons, this court affirms the decision of the trial court in judgment only.
The relevant facts of this case are not disputed by the parties. Appellants, Jean Hails and Mary Higgins, were neighbors in a multifamily apartmеnt complex located on East Church Street, Barnesville, Ohio. Their landlord, Ruth Jarvis, arranged and paid for gas service for the apartment complex provided by appellee, Columbia Gas of Ohio. For reasоns not made clear by the record before us, Jarvis directed appellee to disconnect gas service to the entire apartment building. On January 25, 1995, an employee of appellee carried out this rеquest.
Appellants contacted the county’s fair housing director, who in turn called appellee to inform it that gas service had been terminated to a building that was occupied. Appellee refused to restore gas service unless a tenant agreed to assume full financial responsibility for payment of services to the building or restoration of service was ordered by the court. On January 30, 1995, appellants obtained a cоurt order and gas service was restored. However, by the time the service was restored, appellants had already vacated the building in order to keep warm. Although the complaint is not part of the record before this court, appellants filed suit against Jarvis, alleging various violations of the Ohio Landlord/Tenant Act, R.C. Chapter 5321. Appellants were successful and received a favorable judgment on August 13,1996.
*200 Subsequent to the conclusiоn of their action against the landlord, appellants filed a complaint with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (“PUCO”), alleging that appellee had wrongfully terminated the gas service to the apartment building. During the pendency of thе proceedings before the PUCO, appellants filed a complaint in the Belmont County Court of Common Pleas. In addition to asserting the same allegations contained in the complaint before the PUCO, appellants claimed that appellee’s conduct violated the Consumer Sales Practices Act, R.C. Chapter 1345 (“CSPA”), that appellants were the intended third-party beneficiaries under the contract between appellee and Jarvis, and that appellee allegedly breached this contract. In lieu of filing an answer to the complaint, appellee filed a motion to dismiss this complaint on March 5, 1997. The trial court overruled аppellee’s motion in part and directed appellee to file a motion for summary judgment incorporating the remainder of the defenses contained in appellee’s motion to dismiss by July 1, 1997.
Appellee rеquested various extensions of time within which to file its motion for summary judgment, presumably to await a decision from the PUCO regarding the complaint previously filed by appellants. On February 3, 1998, appellants filed for default judgment on the grоunds that appellee never answered the complaint. The trial court overruled this motion on March 9, 1998.
On March 12, 1998, the PUCO rendered its decision on the complaint pending before it. The commission, in a lengthy and comprehensive discussion, determined that appellee had not provided inadequate service. Based on the ruling of the PUCO, appellee moved for summary judgment on April 29, 1998. Appellants responded with their own motion for pаrtial summary judgment on July 13, 1998.
The trial court heard arguments concerning both motions on September 8, 1998, and, on October 2, 1998 rendered its decision granting appellee’s motion for summary judgment, denying appellants’ motion for partial summary judgment, and dismissing appellants’ complaint. The trial court took judicial notice that the parties were subject to an order from the PUCO. However, assuming that the court had jurisdiction to hear any claims not brought before thе PUCO, the court addressed the merits of appellants’ CSPA claim as well as the breach-of-contract claim. The trial court determined that the CSPA did not apply to appellee as a public utility and that appellants were, at most, incidental beneficiaries to the service contract between appellee and Jarvis and therefore had no standing to bring an action based on that contract.
It is this decision, as well as the trial court’s denial of appellants’ motion for default, which forms the basis for the present appeal. In their brief to this court, appellants assert the following assignments of error:
“1. The trial court erred as a matter of law and abused its discretion in failing to sustain appellants’ motion for default judgment.
*201 “2. The trial court erred as a matter of law in holding that the events of this case were not a consumer transaction subject to the Cоnsumer Sales Practices Act.
“3. In addition, the trial court erred as a matter of law in finding that appellants did not have legal standing to bring an action for breach of contract as creditor beneficiaries of the contract between Jarvis and Columbia.
“4. The trial court erred as a matter of law and abused its discretion in dismissing the remainder of appellants’ claims.”
Appellee here argues that the common pleas court was without jurisdiction to hear this matter as it is a public utility and the allegations against it relate solely to questions of service. Thus, the PUCO has exclusive jurisdiction in the matter pursuant to R.C. Chapter 4905. Appellants, on the other hand, conсede that the PUCO has exclusive jurisdiction in disputes pertaining to service and rates of a public utility, but maintain that the causes of action articulated in their complaint are based on tort and contractual theories of liability which were properly before the lower court.
The General Assembly of Ohio, through enactment of R.C. Chapter 4905, has expressly empowered the PUCO with exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether a public utility has сomplied with its applicable responsibilities as a governmentally regulated entity. R.C. 4905.26 provides:
“Upon complaint in writing against any public utility by any person * * * that any rate, fare, charge, toll, rental, schedule, classification, or service, * * * or service rendered * * * is in any respect unjust, unreasonable, unjustly discriminatory, unjustly preferential, or in violation of law, or that any regulation, measurement, or practice affecting or relating to аny service furnished by the public utility, or in connection with such service, is, or will be, in any respect unreasonable, unjust, insufficient, unjustly discriminatory, or unjustly preferential, or that any service is, or will be, inadequate or cannot be obtained, * * * if it appears that reasonable grounds for complaint are stated, the commission shall fix a time for hearing and shall notify complainants and the public utility thereof.”
The Ohio Supreme Court has interpreted this statute to confer jurisdiction upon the PUCO to hear all complaints pertaining to rates and/or service provided by a public utility.
Kazmaier Supermarket, Inc. v. Toledo Edison Co.
(1991),
Therefore, the task before this court is to determine whеther appellants’ claim against appellee is primarily a question concerning service and/or rates or if the complaint raises, as appellants contend, pure tort, contractual, or statutory causes of action that are independent of service and/or rate-related questions. This court notes that the crux of appellants’ claim against appellee is that appellee wrongfully terminаted gas service to appellants’ residence. The tort, contract, and statutory causes of action contained in appellants’ complaint are merely theories of recovery based on that alleged wrongful termination.
The refusal or termination of service by a public utility is a matter which is in the exclusive jurisdiction of the PUCO, subject to an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Inland Steel Dev. Corp. v. Pub. Util. Comm.
(1977),
Appellants cite this court’s decision in
Harris v. Ohio Edison Co.
(Aug. 17, 1995), Mahoning App. No. 94 CA 84, unreported,
That is not the case before us. Appellants’ entirе cause of action is based on an alleged wrongful termination of gas service to appellants’ residence. Phrasing this allegation in terms of contract or tort liability does not change this basic fact. Therefore, the trial court was without subject matter jurisdiction to decide this case on its merits.
Because the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to rule on the merits of this case, each of appellants’ assignments of error is moot. For all of the foregoing, reasons, the judgment of the trial court granting appellee’s motion for summary judgment, denying appellants’ motion for partial summary judgment, and dismissing appellants’ complaint is hereby affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.