United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

New York & Queens Gas Co. v. McCall, 245 U.S. 345 (1917)

New York & Queens Gas Company v. McCall

No. 407

Argued November 6, 7, 1917

Decided December 10, 1917

245 U.S. 345

Syllabus

An order of a state public service commission requiring a city gas company to extend its mains and service pipes to meet the reasonable needs of a growing community within the city cannot be deemed arbitrary or capricious, and so contrary to the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, where it appears that the company was accorded full hearing before the commission and, on review, in the state courts, that it is the only one authorized to serve the community in question with gas, and that the rate of return upon the cost of the extension, though low initially from 2 1/4% to 4% per annum, will probably soon become ample with the growth of the community, and

Page 245 U. S. 346

where, moreover, the record does not how, and the company does not claim, that the comparatively small loss asserted would render its business as a whole unprofitable.

171 App.Div. 580, 219 N.Y. 84, 681, affirmed.

The case is stated in the opinion.