Court Opinion

ID: 9583537
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:39:36.217871+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:39:03.755514
License: Public Domain

Littlejohn, Chief Justice
(dissenting):
I am in general agreement with the dissent of Justice Gregory. I would, however, elaborate upon the position he takes.
I agree with the contention of view that subsection 3 of section 4 of Act 1293 of 1966 violates the equal protection of the law clause of Article 1, Section 3 of the Constitution of South Carolina and of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
By this provision of the act, the Legislature has undertaken to give sanction and validity to the contract entered into between Duke Power Company and Greenwood County. It is inescapable that to some degree other Duke Power consumers are subsidizing Greenwood County consumers protected by the act and contract. Both of these principle litigants are different from most parties to an action in that their right to contract is circumscribed and must be consistent with the public interest.
This contract has been in effect and honored for some eighteen years. Equal protection has been denied during this entire period. There is no limit in point of time in the contract; and unless this Court intervenes, the inequity will carry on ad infinitum. In my view, no governmental entity, including utilities, has a right to bind those for whom it speaks by way of contract or otherwise for a time unlimited.
Duke would have the Court invalidate that part of the contract obnoxious to it while retaining that part of the contract obviously beneficial. Duke submits that the contract is severable. I disagree. A part of the consideration which Duke promised Greenwood County, and in turn the consumer involved, was that the rate would never be greater than the rate consumers were momentarily paying. It would be grossly unfair to allow Duke to keep all of the properties it *104received without paying all of the consideration it promised. And this is especially true since Duke may not discriminate between its consumers.
No doubt the facilities have been greatly altered and improved. There is no such thing as an equitable swap back. Perhaps the best of the bad solutions available would be for a court of equity to relieve Duke of its obligation to supply power to Greenwood consumers at the old rate and simultaneously require Duke to make adjustments in some equitable way.
I would reverse and remand.