Rhode Island General Laws 39-4-23. Action in supreme court to prevent violations
Whenever the division shall be of the opinion that a public utility, subject to its supervision, is failing or omitting, or about to fail or omit, to do anything required of it by law or by order of the division, or is doing anything, is about to do anything, or is permitting anything, or is about to permit anything to be done contrary to or in violation of law or of any order of the division, it shall direct the attorney general to commence an action or proceeding in the supreme court in the name of the division for the purpose of having the violations or threatened violations prevented. The attorney general shall thereupon begin the action or proceeding by petition to the supreme court, alleging the violation or threatened violation complained of, and praying for appropriate relief. It shall thereupon be the duty of the court to specify a time not exceeding twenty (20) days after the service of the copy of the petition, within which the public utility complained of must answer the petition, and in the meantime the public utility may be restrained. In the case of a default in answering, or after the answer, the court shall immediately inquire into the facts and circumstances of the case. Such corporations or persons as the court may deem necessary or proper to be joined as parties in order to make its judgment, order, or writ effective, may be joined as parties. The final judgment in any action or proceeding, shall either dismiss the action or proceeding or direct that appropriate relief be granted as prayed for in the petition, or in modified or other form.
History of Section.
P.L. 1912, ch. 795, § 31; G.L. 1923, ch. 253, § 31; G.L. 1938, ch. 122, § 28; G.L. 1956, § 39-4-23.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 39-4-23
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Division: means the division of public utilities and carriers. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2
- Public utility: means and includes every company that is an electric distribution company and every company operating or doing business in intrastate commerce and in this state as a railroad, street railway, common carrier, gas, liquefied natural gas, water, telephone, telegraph, and pipeline company, and every company owning, leasing, maintaining, managing, or controlling any plant or equipment, or any part of any plant or equipment, within this state for manufacturing, producing, transmitting, distributing, delivering, or furnishing natural or manufactured gas, directly or indirectly, to or for the public, or any cars or equipment employed on, or in connection with, any railroad or street railway for public or general use within this state, or any pipes, mains, poles, wires, conduits, fixtures, through, over, across, under, or along any public highways, parkways, or streets, public lands, waters, or parks for the transmission, transportation, or distribution of gas for sale to the public for light, heat, cooling, or power for providing audio or visual telephonic or telegraphic communication service within this state, or any pond, lake, reservoir, stream, well, or distributing plant or system employed for the distribution of water to the consuming public within this state, including the water supply board of the city of Providence; provided, that, except as provided in § 39-16-9 and in P. See Rhode Island General Laws 39-1-2
- Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.