Opinion ID: 2637250
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Underlying cause. [1]

Text: ¶ 3 The facts of the underlying action are highly disputed. Nevertheless, it is uncontested that Spencer, a disabled mother of three, paid her account with the electric company in full on November 13, 2002. The debt of approximately $484.00 was paid in cash for which the customer received a receipt. Two years later, Spencer applied for housing assistance. [2] She alleges her application was denied because OG & E refused to extend Spencer service, based on allegations that the November, 2002 bill remained outstanding, [3] ¶ 4 In January of 2005, Spencer filed suit seeking a declaration that she had paid her debt in full to OG & E and requesting damages. OG & E answered in March raising affirmative defenses of insufficient service, unclean hands, limitations, failure to mitigate, Spencer's negligence and federal preemption. In addition, OG & E counter-claimed for breach of contract alleging that, at the customer's request, the cash payment had been refunded and replaced with her personal check which was returned for insufficient funds. The electric company sought payment for the outstanding bill. OG & E's answer and amended answer and counterclaim were followed a month later with a motion to dismiss adding arguments of improper venue and lack of authority to award damages in a declaratory judgment action. Attached to the motion to dismiss is an affidavit of an OG & E employee explaining the activity report of the electric company indicating that Spencer made the cash payment on her account, requested its reversal and substituted a check which was returned dishonored. The record contains a copy of Spencer's cash receipt. [4] Notably absent therefrom is a copy of the allegedly dishonored check. The customer contends that the check would be impossible to resurrect as she had no checking account upon which to write a draft when she made the cash payment.