Court Opinion

ID: 9747113
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 14:57:19.003564+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:20.247516
License: Public Domain

OPINION OF THE COURT
O’BRIEN, Justice.
This appeal arises from a decree of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia which sustained preliminary objections and dismissed the complaint in equity filed by appellants, Philadelphia Community Cable Coalition Association (Coalition) and John A. Zeh (Zeh), a resident of Philadelphia,1 against appellees.
This appeal deals with the granting of six cable television franchises in Philadelphia. In 1966 Philadelphia City Council divided the city into six different television cable areas with franchise rights being granted to six different cable television companies. The six ordinances all contained the following identical provisions (except for the names of the franchise holders):
“Section 3. Telesystems Corporation may enter into an agreement with any person now authorized to erect poles, overhead wires or cables and underground wires or cables for the purpose of sharing those facilities. The conditions set forth in Section 2 of this ordinance shall apply to the use of joint facilities insofar as those *474facilities are used by Telesystems Corporation for television transmission.”
“Section 6. The authorization granted by this ordinance may be exercised only by Telesystems Corporation except that it may be assigned to an affiliate or subsidiary of Telesystems Corporation substantially owned by Telesystems Corporation, provided that the assignor and assignee undertake to be bound by the terms and conditions of this ordinance.”
On December 14, 1978, appellee Telesystems Corporation (Telesystems) informed City Council that formal agreements had been entered into among itself, appellees Philadelphia Cable Television Co. (Philadelphia Cable) and Bulletin Company (Bulletin), by which Telesystems would operate the television cable network in the two franchise areas previously allocated to Philadelphia Cable and Bulletin. The agreements among the parties indicated that Telesystems was a twenty-one per cent owner of Bulletin, with an option to acquire the remaining seventy-nine per cent, and that Telesystems would in the future acquire one hundred per cent ownership of Philadelphia Cable.
On January 14, 1974, appellants Coalition and Zeh filed a complaint in equity against three franchise operators : Telesystems, Philadelphia Cable and Bulletin. This complaint sought to enjoin the proposed operation by Telesystems within the areas originally granted to Philadelphia Cable and Bulletin. The gravamen of the complaint is that the above agreement was in violation of the franchise granted by City Council and that such agreement would create a monopoly, to the detriment of Coalition and Zeh.
On January 21, 1974, a hearing was held on appellees’ preliminary objections; the chancellor granted appellees’ motion to dismiss for lack of standing on the part of appellants and this appeal followed.
*475Appellants argue that they do in fact have standing to contest the corporate actions of appellees. Appellants contend that the Act of June 19, 1871, P.L. 1360, § 1, 15 P.S. § 117, grants them standing. We agree. 15 P.S. § 117 provides:
“In all proceedings in courts of law or equity of this commonwealth, in which it is alleged that the private rights of individuals or the rights or franchises of other corporations are injured or invaded by any corporation claiming to have a right or franchise to do the act from which such injury results, it shall be the duty of the court in which such proceedings are had, to examine, inquire and ascertain whether such corporation does in fact possess the right or franchise to do the act from which such alleged injury to private rights, or to the rights and franchises of other corporations, results, and if such rights or franchises have not been conferred upon such corporation, such courts, if exercising equitable power, shall, by injunction, at suit of the private parties or other corporations, restrain such injurious acts; and if the proceedings be at law for damages, it shall be lawful therein to recover damages for such injury as in other cases.” (Emphasis supplied. )
This statute grants standing to individuals, groups of individuals or other corporations which alleged that their private rights are injured or invaded by a corporate act in excess of a corporation’s charter or franchise. Appellants alleged in their complaint that the take-over by Telesystems of the franchise areas of Philadelphia Cable and Bulletin would create a monopoly interest in one-half of the wards of the City of Philadelphia and thereby create a restraint of trade in the pricing and servicing of cable television which would injure them.
An examination of the case law surrounding the above-quoted statute indicates that an allegation of inju*476ry in a complaint is sufficient in law to grant standing to persons situated similarly to appellants. See Gingrich v. Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, 444 Pa. 420, 282 A.2d 315 (1971). See also Edwards v. Pittsburg Junction Railroad Company, 215 Pa. 597, 64 A. 798 (1906). Moreover, the granting of standing only recognizes that appellants have alleged sufficient facts to proceed to a hearing. Standing does not relieve appellants of the burden of proving injury or invasion of their private rights, because of appellee’s alleged actions in excess of its franchise rights granted by the Philadelphia City Council.
• Decree vacated. Case remanded for proceedings consistent with this opinion. Each party to bear own costs.
ROBERTS, J., filed a dissenting opinion in which JONES, C. J., and POMEROY, J., join.
POMEROY, J., filed a dissenting opinion in which JONES, C. J., and ROBERTS, J., join.

. Metrotel Communications, Inc., a co-plaintiff in the court below, has not appealed the dismissal of the complaint.