Court Opinion

ID: 4924423
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2021-09-22 19:07:56.248625+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:14:14.209401
License: Public Domain

FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
                 STATE OF FLORIDA
                  _____________________________

                          No. 1D21-579
                  _____________________________

JEA,

    Petitioner,

    v.

FIRST COAST REGIONAL
UTILITIES, INC.,

    Respondent.
                  _____________________________

Petition for Writ of Prohibition—Original Jurisdiction.

                        September 22, 2021

PER CURIAM.

     JEA petitions this court for the entry of a writ prohibiting the
Florida Public Service Commission from exercising authority
reserved to the judiciary. But Petitioners are premature in
anticipating that the PSC will carry out its statutory
responsibilities in a manner that exceeds its jurisdiction. Cf. S.
Fla. Cargo Carriers Ass’n, Inc. v. State Bd. of Pilot Comm’rs, 627
So. 2d 597, 598–99 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993). Because section 367.045,
Florida Statutes, gives the PSC authority to decide certificate of
authorization applications, taking account of objections filed by
municipalities, local comprehensive plans, and existing systems,
we deny the petition.
    DENIED.

B.L. THOMAS, OSTERHAUS, and M.K. THOMAS, JJ., concur.

               _____________________________

    Not final until disposition of any timely and
    authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
    9.331.
               _____________________________

Susan Clark, Tom Crabb, and Laura Dennis of Radey Law Firm,
Tallahassee, for Petitioner.

William E. Sundstrom and Robert C. Brannan of Sundstrom &
Mindlin, LLP, Tallahassee; John L. Wharton of Dean Mead &
Dunbar, Tallahassee, for Respondent.

Samantha M. Cibula and Kathryn G.W. Cowdery of the Florida
Public Service Commission, Tallahassee.

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