Harvey v. The Corporation Commission

Harvey v. The Corporation Commission
1998 OK CIV APP 195
969 P.2d 367
70 OBJ 252
Case Number: 89917
Decided: 04/10/1998
Mandate Issued: 12/30/1998

STATE OF OKLAHOMA ex rel., TERESA HARVEY (CARROLL), MARGARET B. FENT and JERRY R. FENT, Wife and Husband, as State of Oklahoma Taxpayers, Plaintiffs/Appellants,
vs.
STATE OF OKLAHOMA, ex rel. THE CORPORATION COMMISSION; CODY GRAVES, as an individual and Commissioner, BOB ANTHONY, as an individual and Commissioner, and ED APPLE, as an individual and Commissioner of the CORPORATION COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA; and STATE OF OKLAHOMA, ex rel. OKLAHOMA TAX COMMISSION; and OKLAHOMA GAS AND ELECTRIC COMPANY, a corporation, Defendants/Appellees.

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF OKLAHOMA COUNTY, OKLAHOMA
HONORABLE BRYAN C. DIXON, JUDGE

AFFIRMED

Russell B. Fister, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, For Appellants Teresa Harvey (Carroll), and lead Counsel for Margaret B. Fent and Jerry R. Fent,
James F. Howell, Midwest City, Oklahoma, Co-Counsel for Appellants,
Jerry R. Fent, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, For Appellants,
Hugh D. Rice, Robert J. Campbell, Rainey, Ross, Rice & Binns, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, For Appellees OG&E,
Rachel Lawrence Mor, Thomas H. Tucker, Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, For Appellees Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the individual Commissioners,
Gregory K. Frizzell, Kathryn Bass, Sean R. McFarland, Oklahoma Tax Commission, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,For State of Oklahoma, ex rel. Oklahoma Tax Commission,

LARRY E. JOPLIN, Judge

¶1 Oklahoma taxpayers Teresa Harvey, Margaret B. Fent, and Jerry R. Fent (Plaintiffs) seek review of the trial court's order denying Plaintiffs relief in their qui tam action claiming money due and owing from Oklahoma Gas and Electric Corporation to the Oklahoma Tax Commission on behalf of the State of Oklahoma pursuant to

¶2 In 1994, the Corporation Commission filed an order requiring OG&E to refund certain money to its ratepayers after its Public Utilities Division sought review of the reasonableness of charges paid. In this order, Commission established a schedule by which known ratepayers would receive a refund, as well as a method by which Commission would attempt a refund to former known ratepayers or to those ratepayers whose whereabouts were unknown. According to Commission, OG&E was required to 969 P.2d 369 maintain a separate account in which they were to deposit five percent (5%) of the refund amount ordered by Commission for the benefit of ratepayers whose whereabouts were unknown or former ratepayers. Commission then ordered that any of the five-percent fund remaining unclaimed after six months be placed in an OG&E account to offset certain costs incurred by OG&E.

¶3 Some funds in fact remained unclaimed, and OG&E accordingly applied these funds - pursuant to the Commission order - to certain costs incurred by OG&E vis-a-vis its fuel adjustment rider. Plaintiffs then brought the present action alleging these funds were "unclaimed property" which should be administered in accordance with the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act as required by

¶4 We find Plaintiffs argument fundamentally flawed under the express terms of the Unclaimed Property Act. The Unclaimed Property Act defines "unclaimed property" as excepting property "to the extent otherwise ordered by the court or administrative agency."

¶5 The order of the trial court denying Plaintiffs relief is therefore AFFIRMED.

JONES, V.C.J. and GARRETT, J., concur.

FOOTNOTES

1These statutes allow taxpayer to sue public officials for fraudulent payments or failure to pay proper entities taxpayer monies.

2Plaintiffs cite a California and a Louisiana case - both based on state statutes - in support of their position. We find the reliance on the cases unfounded as the California statute apparently does not permit the payment of unclaimed refunds for the benefit of present utility customers, and the Louisiana statute recognizes the ability of the administrative agency to "otherwise dispose" of the subject funds thus taking the funds outside the purview of "unclaimed property."