Mountain Water Company v. Montana Department of Public Service Regulation Montana Public Service Commission

Mountain Water Company (“Mountain Water”) appeals summary judgment for the Montana Department of Public Service Regulation and the Montana Public Service Commission in Mountain Water’s action for a declaratory judgment that Mont.Code Ann. § 69-4-511 (1989) is unconstitutional under the fourteenth and fifth amendments. The statute at issue requires privately — but not publicly-owned Montana water utilities to reimburse their customers for certain costs of repair of customers’ individually-owned water service lines. We affirm the district court’s judgment that the statute is constitutional.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Under Montana’s regulatory structure, cities and towns are responsible for regulating their publicly-owned water utilities. MontCode Ann. §§ 69-7-101 to -201 (1989). The Montana Public Service Commission (“PSC”), an executive branch of the state (Mont.Code Ann. §§ 2-15-2601, 2-15-2602 (1989)), is responsible for regulating privately-owned water utilities. Mont.Code Ann. §§ 69-3-101, 69-3-102 (1989). All but two of Montana’s major water utilities are publicly-owned and therefore regulated by cities and towns. Mountain Water is one of the two major…