State Ex Rel. Public Service Commission v. Town of Fayetteville, Municipal Water Works

In this proceeding, the Court was asked to determine whether the Public Service Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “PSC”) had jurisdiction to require the Town of Fayetteville (hereinafter referred to as the “Town”) to refund a sewer reconnection fee to a customer, Michael Neff. This Court was also asked to invalidate part of an ordinance holding landlords liable for delinquent water and sewer fees. The majority opinion concluded that the PSC had jurisdiction of the matter and awarded a writ of mandamus. For the reasons set out below, I dissent.

PSC’s Jurisdiction over Municipalities is…