Pacific Bell v. Superior Court

Opinion

THE COURT.

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This petition for a writ of prohibition or mandate arises from two rulings by respondent court declining to dismiss or stay the underlying action on the petitioner’s theory that the California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) has exclusive or primary jurisdiction over its subject matter.

Real parties in interest sued petitioner for damages, imposition of a constructive trust, and a declaratory judgment. The first amended complaint

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alleges, in essence, that defendant, a public utility telephone corporation, entered into a joint venture or partnership with each plaintiff to provide certain services to the public pursuant to a telephone company tariff; that defendant failed accurately to account for monies due plaintiffs under the tariff; that defendant’s equipment and accounting systems were inadequate to render accurate accounts; that defendant fraudulently concealed this inadequacy from plaintiffs; and that plaintiffs were damaged thereby, and are entitled to a monetary recovery, including punitive damages, on various legal theories.

The tariff in question authorizes defendant to provide a service described as 976 Information Access Service (976 IAS). This service enables a caller, for a charge, to telephone an “information provider’s” recorded announcement or interactive program. Defendant, on behalf of the information provider, charges the caller for each completed qualifying call. Defendant is required by the tariff to remit a specified portion of the charge to the information provider. Plaintiffs in the underlying action are information providers.

On April 17, 1985, the Commission issued an order instituting an investigation of 976 IAS. The order described six problems of which the Commission had become aware. None of these problems involved the general subject of this action—defendant’s accountings to information providers. On March 25, 1986, an information provider (On-Cue Entertainment) filed an administrative complaint with the Commission alleging that defendant had undercounted calls to its number. On April 14 the instant action was commenced in the superior court. On May 22, on defendant’s motion, an administrative law judge of the Commission ordered consolidation of the On-Cue Entertainment complaint with the Commission investigation. This order also required consolidation with the ongoing investigation of “all complaints requesting an accounting for 976 IAS revenues.” (Though it did not so specify, the latter portion of the order seems intended to encompass all such complaints that might be filed in the future, as well as any complaints already on file.) The administrative law judge did not sign defendant’s proposed form of order, which would have added several issues, involving the adequacy of defendant’s accounting equipment and facilities and its liability to information providers, to the scope of the Commission investigation.