756.185 Right
to recover for wrongs and omissions; treble damages. (1) Any public utility which does,
or causes or permits to be done, any matter, act or thing prohibited by ORS
chapter 756, 757 or 758 or omits to do any act, matter or thing required to be
done by such statutes, is liable to the person injured thereby in the amount of
damages sustained in consequence of such violation. If the party seeking
damages alleges and proves that the wrong or omission was the result of gross
negligence or willful misconduct, the public utility is liable to the person
injured thereby in treble the amount of damages sustained in consequence of the
violation. Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the court may
award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party in an action under this
section.
(2) The court may
not award attorney fees to a prevailing defendant under the provisions of
subsection (1) of this section if the action under this section is maintained
as a class action pursuant to ORCP 32.
(3) Any recovery
under this section does not affect recovery by the state of the penalty,
forfeiture or fine prescribed for such violation.
(4) This section
does not apply with respect to the liability of any public utility for personal
injury or property damage. [Formerly 757.335; 1973 c.776 §26; 1981 c.856 §1;
1981 c.897 §104a; 1987 c.447 §86; 1989 c.827 §1; 1995 c.696 §48; 1995 c.733 §63]
756.190 [Repealed by 1971 c.655 §250]
Notes of Decisions
Holman Transfer Co. v. Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co. (1979)
or · cites it 11×
“1 The trial court entered judgment for treble damages and attorney fees pursuant to ORS 756.185. Bell appeals. Bell does not dispute its liability for charges which were mistakenly billed for equipment which it had not provided.”
Garrison v. Pacific Northwest Bell (1980)
orctapp · cites it 9×
“020 for a telephone directory error; (2) plaintiff is, therefore, not entitled to treble damages under ORS 756.185 for a violation of ORS 757.020, but is entitled only to the limited remedy established in Public Utility Commission Rule and Regulation No.”
Dreyer v. Portland General Electric Co. (2006)
or · cites it 5×
“In their first claim, plaintiffs alleged that they were entitled to return of the unlawful charges under ORS 756.185. That statute provides, in part: *274 “(1) Any public utility which does, or causes or permits to be done, any matter, act or thing prohibited by ORS chapter 756,…”
Gearhart v. Public Utility Commission (2014)
or · cites it 3×
“The CAPs’ Claims Against PGE: Mandamus Proceeding in Dreyer After Trojan I, the CAPs filed an action against PGE in circuit court alleging, among other things, that PGE was liable for damages under ORS 756.185. See ORS 756.185(1) (providing that public utility is liable to…”
Oregon Trail Electric Consumers Cooperative, Inc. v. Co-Gen Co. (2000)
orctapp · cites it 3×
“” Co-Gen relied on ORS 756.185(1), which provides: “Any public utility which does, or causes or permits to be done, any matter, act or thing prohibited by ORS chapter 756, 757 or 758 or omits to do any act, matter or thing required to be done by such statutes, is liable to the…”
Olson v. Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co. (1983)
orctapp · cites it 4×
“The issue before the court was whether plaintiff could recover treble damages under ORS 756.185(1) 3 *425 on a showing that defendant’s action constituted a willful, wanton or malicious violation of the regulatory laws.”
Gearhart v. Public Utility Commission (2013)
orctapp · cites it 2×
“The CAPs argue that the only remedy for the affected ratepayers is to recover the excess in an action against PGE under ORS 756.185. The prevailing party in such an action is entitled to recover attorney fees, except that a prevailing defendant may not recover those fees if the…”
Perla Development Co. v. Pacificorp (1986)
orctapp
“Notwithstanding the subsequent *54 PUC order prohibiting free hook-ups, Perla brought this action on theories of breach of contract, promissory estoppel and entitlement to treble damages for gross negligence or wilful misconduct under ORS 756.185. Those claims, and the relief…”
Frogge v. U S West Communications, Inc. (1993)
orctapp
“We also write to further explain affirmance of the trial court’s ruling denying plaintiffs motion to amend her complaint to conform to the evidence, so as to allege a tort under ORS 756.185 2 permitting recovery of treble damages.”
Dreyer v. PGE (2019)
orctapp · cites it 3×
“2254 by charging an amount for utility services not authorized by law; and (3) plaintiffs were entitled to damages, under the equitable theories of “money had and received” and unjust enrichment, for the component of PGE’s charges that represented a return on its investment.”
Utility Reform Project v. Oregon Public Utility Commission (2016)
orctapp
“355 (1993) by charging and receiving rates that included a return on investment, and that, under ORS 756.185(1), PGE was liable to the plaintiffs for damages that they had sustained in consequence of that violation.”
— Or. Rev. Stat. § 756.185(1) — 10 cases
Holman Transfer Co. v. Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co. (1979)
or
“1 The trial court entered judgment for treble damages and attorney fees pursuant to ORS 756.185. Bell appeals. Bell does not dispute its liability for charges which were mistakenly billed for equipment which it had not provided.”
Oregon Trail Electric Consumers Cooperative, Inc. v. Co-Gen Co. (2000)
orctapp
“” Co-Gen relied on ORS 756.185(1), which provides: “Any public utility which does, or causes or permits to be done, any matter, act or thing prohibited by ORS chapter 756, 757 or 758 or omits to do any act, matter or thing required to be done by such statutes, is liable to the…”
Dreyer v. Portland General Electric Co. (2006)
or
“In their first claim, plaintiffs alleged that they were entitled to return of the unlawful charges under ORS 756.185. That statute provides, in part: *274 “(1) Any public utility which does, or causes or permits to be done, any matter, act or thing prohibited by ORS chapter 756,…”
Olson v. Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co. (1983)
orctapp
“The issue before the court was whether plaintiff could recover treble damages under ORS 756.185(1) 3 *425 on a showing that defendant’s action constituted a willful, wanton or malicious violation of the regulatory laws.”
Gearhart v. Public Utility Commission (2014)
or
“The CAPs’ Claims Against PGE: Mandamus Proceeding in Dreyer After Trojan I, the CAPs filed an action against PGE in circuit court alleging, among other things, that PGE was liable for damages under ORS 756.185. See ORS 756.185(1) (providing that public utility is liable to…”
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