Evening star., 1934-12-11
Measure to Uphold Rulings
of Commission Drafted
for Congress.
WOULD ASSESS COST
AGAINST PLAINTIFFS
Proposal Imposes Restrictions on
Efforts to Get Decision
by Judges.

Congress will be urged to enact
early in the new session a measure
to restrict appeal to the courts from
decisions of the District Public Utili-
ties Commission. The act Is designed
to end the practice under which
courts frequently take new evidence
and decide valuations and rates.
The draft of the proposed amend
ment to the District utilities act was
made public today by Corporation
Counsel E. Barrett Prettyman. While
the Utilities Commission has not yet
acted on it, the measure bears the
approval of the commission since it
was drafted following long confer
enceS between Prettyman and COM
mission members.
A similar bill was presented to Con-
gress last session, but it failed of final
action.
An important element of the new
bill is that the entire expense of q
court appeal, or additional investiga-
tion or valuation proceedings caused
by an appeal from commission order,
would be assessed against the public
utility involved in the case.
See Speedier Action.
Officials believe the plan would speed
up decisions which frequently have
been dragged for years through the
courts.
Under the proposed measure, a
utility concern could not appeal to
courts until it first had filed with the
commission an appeal for a recon-
Sideration. This would have to be
done within 80 days after the decision.
There could be an appeal to court
within so days after final action of
the commission on a petition for re-
consideration, and the commission
would be given 20 days to file its reply
and the commission record.
The measure states as to appeals
Amy such appeal shall be heard upon
the record before the commission and
no new or additional evidence shall
be received by the said court" The
court, however. may require the COM
mission to receive additional evidence
on any subject related to the issues
on appeal where it finds that evidence
was improperly excluded or upon
which the record may contain no
substantial evidence" n AZ
Confined to Legal Phase.
The measure also states. "In the
determination of any appeal from an
order or decicio, of the cay,,r,;.e;o,,
the review of the court shall be lin
tied to questions of law, and the find
ings of facts by the commission, if
supported by substantial evidence,
shall be conclusive unless it shall ap-
pear that such findings of the COM
mission are arbitrary or capricious."
In cases where the concern claims
operation of an order would cause
irreparable damage, the court may
suspend the commission order, direct
ing that the commission hear further
evidence, but the period of suspen-
sion could not be for longer than
go days without further hearing be-
fore the court.
Justices of the District Supreme
Court void be empowered to certify
questions of law to the District Court
of Appeals and the appellate court
either may give binding instructions
or require that the entire record
be sent up for its consideration. The
purpose of this clause is to speed action
in cases where the appellate court is
willing to consider questions OF appeal
on matters of law at the instance
of the lower court.