Brown v. UNITED WATER DELAWARE INC.

BERGER, Justice:

In this appeal we consider whether homeowners may state a claim for damages allegedly caused by the negligence of a public utility. The so-called “filed rate doctrine” requires regulated utilities to charge all of their customers the rate approved by the regulator. The filed rate generally includes restrictions on the utility’s liability. In this case, a water company included in its filed rate a provision exempting it from all liability for damages arising from fire or the failure to provide adequate water pressure. The homeowners allege that their house suffered serious fire…