Empathy List Archives

JM

Jon Miller

Mon, Oct 10, 2022 6:59 PM

City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt?

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1501 N. Mustang Road
Mustang, Oklahoma 73064
Telephone: (405) 376-7746
Facsimile: (405) 376-7721

This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt? Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1501 N. Mustang Road Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 Telephone: (405) 376-7746 Facsimile: (405) 376-7721 This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

RK

Rick Knighton

Mon, Oct 10, 2022 8:08 PM

· Unless a statute of limitations specifically provides otherwise, statutes of limitations do not apply to the state when it is suing in its sovereign capacity. State ex rel. Oklahoma Dep't of Transp. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs for Cnty. of Comanche Cnty., 2007 OK CIV APP 126, ¶ 8, 174 P.3d 1010, 1011.

· The test to determine whether the governmental entity was acting in its sovereign capacity to vindicate public rights is whether the right is such as to affect the public generally or merely affects a class of individuals. Id.

· The following cases involve actions to recover a debt:

§ State ex rel. Oklahoma State Employment Comm'n v. Thompson, 2003 OK CIV APP 75, ¶ 7, 76 P.3d 88, 90 (Employment Security Commission brought action to enforce its recoupment determination that unemployment compensation claimant was liable for repayment of unemployment benefits received by reason of false statement or failure to disclose material fact)

§ State ex rel. Oklahoma Student Loan Auth. v. Akers, 1995 OK CIV APP 75, 900 P.2d 468 (statute of limitations, laches, and estoppel were not valid defenses to authority's action to collect student loans)

§ Lewandowski v. Lewandowski, 1993 OK CIV APP 155, 862 P.2d 86, 87 (statute of limitation did not bar DHS from seeking child support arrearages)

§ Oklahoma City Mun. Imp. Auth. v. HTB, Inc., 1988 OK 149, 769 P.2d 131 (statute of limitation did not bar the Oklahoma Municipal Authority's negligence design in construction regarding part of a municipal water system)

These cases support an argument that the statute of limitations does not apply to a municipality's attempt to collect debts for utility service. This would include refusing to initiate new service until a prior debt is satisfied.

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

From: Jon Miller JMiller@cityofmustang.org
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 1:59 PM
To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org) oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] UTILITY ACCOUNT

City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt?

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1501 N. Mustang Road
Mustang, Oklahoma 73064
Telephone: (405) 376-7746
Facsimile: (405) 376-7721

This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

· Unless a statute of limitations specifically provides otherwise, statutes of limitations do not apply to the state when it is suing in its sovereign capacity. State ex rel. Oklahoma Dep't of Transp. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs for Cnty. of Comanche Cnty., 2007 OK CIV APP 126, ¶ 8, 174 P.3d 1010, 1011. · The test to determine whether the governmental entity was acting in its sovereign capacity to vindicate public rights is whether the right is such as to affect the public generally or merely affects a class of individuals. Id. · The following cases involve actions to recover a debt: § State ex rel. Oklahoma State Employment Comm'n v. Thompson, 2003 OK CIV APP 75, ¶ 7, 76 P.3d 88, 90 (Employment Security Commission brought action to enforce its recoupment determination that unemployment compensation claimant was liable for repayment of unemployment benefits received by reason of false statement or failure to disclose material fact) § State ex rel. Oklahoma Student Loan Auth. v. Akers, 1995 OK CIV APP 75, 900 P.2d 468 (statute of limitations, laches, and estoppel were not valid defenses to authority's action to collect student loans) § Lewandowski v. Lewandowski, 1993 OK CIV APP 155, 862 P.2d 86, 87 (statute of limitation did not bar DHS from seeking child support arrearages) § Oklahoma City Mun. Imp. Auth. v. HTB, Inc., 1988 OK 149, 769 P.2d 131 (statute of limitation did not bar the Oklahoma Municipal Authority's negligence design in construction regarding part of a municipal water system) These cases support an argument that the statute of limitations does not apply to a municipality's attempt to collect debts for utility service. This would include refusing to initiate new service until a prior debt is satisfied. Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | * rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<http://www.normanok.gov/> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. From: Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 1:59 PM To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org) <oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] UTILITY ACCOUNT City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt? Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1501 N. Mustang Road Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 Telephone: (405) 376-7746 Facsimile: (405) 376-7721 This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

JM

Jon Miller

Mon, Oct 10, 2022 8:10 PM

Thank you, sir.

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1501 N. Mustang Road
Mustang, Oklahoma 73064
Telephone: (405) 376-7746
Facsimile: (405) 376-7721

This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

From: Rick Knighton Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:08 PM
To: Jon Miller JMiller@cityofmustang.org; oama (oama@lists.imla.org) oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: RE: UTILITY ACCOUNT

· Unless a statute of limitations specifically&n

· Unless a statute of limitations specifically provides otherwise, statutes of limitations do not apply to the state when it is suing in its sovereign capacity. State ex rel. Oklahoma Dep't of Transp. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs for Cnty. of Comanche Cnty., 2007 OK CIV APP 126, ¶ 8, 174 P.3d 1010, 1011.

· The test to determine whether the governmental entity was acting in its sovereign capacity to vindicate public rights is whether the right is such as to affect the public generally or merely affects a class of individuals. Id.

· The following cases involve actions to recover a debt:

§ State ex rel. Oklahoma State Employment Comm'n v. Thompson, 2003 OK CIV APP 75, ¶ 7, 76 P.3d 88, 90 (Employment Security Commission brought action to enforce its recoupment determination that unemployment compensation claimant was liable for repayment of unemployment benefits received by reason of false statement or failure to disclose material fact)

§ State ex rel. Oklahoma Student Loan Auth. v. Akers, 1995 OK CIV APP 75, 900 P.2d 468 (statute of limitations, laches, and estoppel were not valid defenses to authority's action to collect student loans)

§ Lewandowski v. Lewandowski, 1993 OK CIV APP 155, 862 P.2d 86, 87 (statute of limitation did not bar DHS from seeking child support arrearages)

§ Oklahoma City Mun. Imp. Auth. v. HTB, Inc., 1988 OK 149, 769 P.2d 131 (statute of limitation did not bar the Oklahoma Municipal Authority's negligence design in construction regarding part of a municipal water system)

These cases support an argument that the statute of limitations does not apply to a municipality's attempt to collect debts for utility service. This would include refusing to initiate new service until a prior debt is satisfied.

Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman
201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070
' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | * rick.knighton@normanok.gov mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov | þ www.normanok.gov https://us-west-2.protection.sophos.com?d=normanok.gov&u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5ub3JtYW5vay5nb3Yv&i=NjBhNjhkYzZhZmIzMmUwZjVhOTkxZDZk&t=eWVScEVybkxmWUFleFFwSXhnTkFmb2RZazhvdUdsVm9qNEI2dTg1YnM2bz0=&h=b51baad919f549e28a20238adfcab2c7

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

From: Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 1:59 PM
To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org) <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>
Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] UTILITY ACCOUNT

City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt?

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1501 N. Mustang Road
Mustang, Oklahoma 73064
Telephone: (405) 376-7746
Facsimile: (405) 376-7721

This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

Thank you, sir. Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1501 N. Mustang Road Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 Telephone: (405) 376-7746 Facsimile: (405) 376-7721 This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege. From: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:08 PM To: Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org>; oama (oama@lists.imla.org) <oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: RE: UTILITY ACCOUNT · Unless a statute of limitations specifically&n · Unless a statute of limitations specifically provides otherwise, statutes of limitations do not apply to the state when it is suing in its sovereign capacity. State ex rel. Oklahoma Dep't of Transp. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs for Cnty. of Comanche Cnty., 2007 OK CIV APP 126, ¶ 8, 174 P.3d 1010, 1011. · The test to determine whether the governmental entity was acting in its sovereign capacity to vindicate public rights is whether the right is such as to affect the public generally or merely affects a class of individuals. Id. · The following cases involve actions to recover a debt: § State ex rel. Oklahoma State Employment Comm'n v. Thompson, 2003 OK CIV APP 75, ¶ 7, 76 P.3d 88, 90 (Employment Security Commission brought action to enforce its recoupment determination that unemployment compensation claimant was liable for repayment of unemployment benefits received by reason of false statement or failure to disclose material fact) § State ex rel. Oklahoma Student Loan Auth. v. Akers, 1995 OK CIV APP 75, 900 P.2d 468 (statute of limitations, laches, and estoppel were not valid defenses to authority's action to collect student loans) § Lewandowski v. Lewandowski, 1993 OK CIV APP 155, 862 P.2d 86, 87 (statute of limitation did not bar DHS from seeking child support arrearages) § Oklahoma City Mun. Imp. Auth. v. HTB, Inc., 1988 OK 149, 769 P.2d 131 (statute of limitation did not bar the Oklahoma Municipal Authority's negligence design in construction regarding part of a municipal water system) These cases support an argument that the statute of limitations does not apply to a municipality's attempt to collect debts for utility service. This would include refusing to initiate new service until a prior debt is satisfied. Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | * rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<https://us-west-2.protection.sophos.com?d=normanok.gov&u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5ub3JtYW5vay5nb3Yv&i=NjBhNjhkYzZhZmIzMmUwZjVhOTkxZDZk&t=eWVScEVybkxmWUFleFFwSXhnTkFmb2RZazhvdUdsVm9qNEI2dTg1YnM2bz0=&h=b51baad919f549e28a20238adfcab2c7> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. From: Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org<mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 1:59 PM To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>) <oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>> Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] UTILITY ACCOUNT City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt? Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1501 N. Mustang Road Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 Telephone: (405) 376-7746 Facsimile: (405) 376-7721 This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

RT

Robert Thompson

Mon, Oct 10, 2022 8:10 PM

I agree, and it would justify requiring a very generous utility deposit

Robert C. Thompson
Cheek & Falcone, PLLC
6301 Waterford Blvd., Suite 320
Oklahoma City, Okla. 73118
direct telephone:405-286-9560
direct fax: 405-286-9680
Firm telephone: 405-286-9191
rthompson@cheekfalcone.com mailto:rthompson@cheekfalcone.com

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE:
This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential information that is protected by legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this e-mail or any attachment is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us immediately by returning it to the sender and delete this copy from your system. Thank you for your cooperation.
Visit us at our website http://www.cheekfalcone.com/

From: Rick Knighton via Oama oama@lists.imla.org
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:08 PM
To: 'Jon Miller' JMiller@cityofmustang.org; oama (oama@lists.imla.org) oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: UTILITY ACCOUNT

· Unless a statute of limitations specifically provides otherwise, statutes of limitations do not apply to the state when it is suing in its sovereign capacity. State ex rel. Oklahoma Dep't of Transp. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs for Cnty. of Comanche Cnty., 2007 OK CIV APP 126, ¶ 8, 174 P.3d 1010, 1011.

· The test to determine whether the governmental entity was acting in its sovereign capacity to vindicate public rights is whether the right is such as to affect the public generally or merely affects a class of individuals. Id.

· The following cases involve actions to recover a debt:

§ State ex rel. Oklahoma State Employment Comm'n v. Thompson, 2003 OK CIV APP 75, ¶ 7, 76 P.3d 88, 90 (Employment Security Commission brought action to enforce its recoupment determination that unemployment compensation claimant was liable for repayment of unemployment benefits received by reason of false statement or failure to disclose material fact)

§ State ex rel. Oklahoma Student Loan Auth. v. Akers, 1995 OK CIV APP 75, 900 P.2d 468 (statute of limitations, laches, and estoppel were not valid defenses to authority's action to collect student loans)

§ Lewandowski v. Lewandowski, 1993 OK CIV APP 155, 862 P.2d 86, 87 (statute of limitation did not bar DHS from seeking child support arrearages)

§ Oklahoma City Mun. Imp. Auth. v. HTB, Inc., 1988 OK 149, 769 P.2d 131 (statute of limitation did not bar the Oklahoma Municipal Authority's negligence design in construction regarding part of a municipal water system)

These cases support an argument that the statute of limitations does not apply to a municipality's attempt to collect debts for utility service. This would include refusing to initiate new service until a prior debt is satisfied.

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

From: Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 1:59 PM
To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org) <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>
Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] UTILITY ACCOUNT

City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt?

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1501 N. Mustang Road
Mustang, Oklahoma 73064
Telephone: (405) 376-7746
Facsimile: (405) 376-7721

This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

I agree, and it would justify requiring a very generous utility deposit Robert C. Thompson Cheek & Falcone, PLLC 6301 Waterford Blvd., Suite 320 Oklahoma City, Okla. 73118 direct telephone:405-286-9560 direct fax: 405-286-9680 Firm telephone: 405-286-9191 rthompson@cheekfalcone.com<mailto:rthompson@cheekfalcone.com> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE: This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential information that is protected by legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this e-mail or any attachment is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us immediately by returning it to the sender and delete this copy from your system. Thank you for your cooperation. Visit us at our website http://www.cheekfalcone.com/ From: Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:08 PM To: 'Jon Miller' <JMiller@cityofmustang.org>; oama (oama@lists.imla.org) <oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: [Oama] Re: UTILITY ACCOUNT · Unless a statute of limitations specifically provides otherwise, statutes of limitations do not apply to the state when it is suing in its sovereign capacity. State ex rel. Oklahoma Dep't of Transp. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs for Cnty. of Comanche Cnty., 2007 OK CIV APP 126, ¶ 8, 174 P.3d 1010, 1011. · The test to determine whether the governmental entity was acting in its sovereign capacity to vindicate public rights is whether the right is such as to affect the public generally or merely affects a class of individuals. Id. · The following cases involve actions to recover a debt: § State ex rel. Oklahoma State Employment Comm'n v. Thompson, 2003 OK CIV APP 75, ¶ 7, 76 P.3d 88, 90 (Employment Security Commission brought action to enforce its recoupment determination that unemployment compensation claimant was liable for repayment of unemployment benefits received by reason of false statement or failure to disclose material fact) § State ex rel. Oklahoma Student Loan Auth. v. Akers, 1995 OK CIV APP 75, 900 P.2d 468 (statute of limitations, laches, and estoppel were not valid defenses to authority's action to collect student loans) § Lewandowski v. Lewandowski, 1993 OK CIV APP 155, 862 P.2d 86, 87 (statute of limitation did not bar DHS from seeking child support arrearages) § Oklahoma City Mun. Imp. Auth. v. HTB, Inc., 1988 OK 149, 769 P.2d 131 (statute of limitation did not bar the Oklahoma Municipal Authority's negligence design in construction regarding part of a municipal water system) These cases support an argument that the statute of limitations does not apply to a municipality's attempt to collect debts for utility service. This would include refusing to initiate new service until a prior debt is satisfied. Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | * rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<http://www.normanok.gov/> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. From: Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org<mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 1:59 PM To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>) <oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>> Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] UTILITY ACCOUNT City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt? Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1501 N. Mustang Road Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 Telephone: (405) 376-7746 Facsimile: (405) 376-7721 This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

MR

Mark Ramsey

Tue, Oct 11, 2022 12:15 PM

I agree; however, do you have a policy in place for requiring higher deposits from customers who have been slow- or no-pay? I think it would be best to have a policy in place to ensure equal treatment. If you have an ordinance that requires the deposit but doesn't differentiate, you may be stuck with the letter of the ordinance.

Good Luck!

Mark H. Ramsey
For the Firm
Taylor, Foster, Mallett,
Downs, Ramsey & Russell, P.C.
P.O. Box 309
Claremore, OK 74018
918-343-4100
918-343-4900 fax
mramsey@soonerlaw.com mailto:apixley@soonerlaw.com
The information contained in this electronic mail transmission (including any accompanying attachments) is intended solely for its authorized recipient(s), and may be confidential and/or legally privileged. If you are not an intended recipient, or responsible for delivering some or all of this transmission to an intended recipient, you have received this transmission in error and are hereby notified that you are strictly prohibited from reading, copying, printing, distributing or disclosing any of the information contained in it. In that event, please contact us immediately by telephone (918) 343-4100 or by electronic mail at postmaster@soonerlaw.com mailto:postmaster@soonerlaw.com and delete the original and all copies of this transmission (including any attachments) without reading or saving in any manner. Thank you.

From: Robert Thompson rthompson@cheekfalcone.com
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:11 PM
To: Rick Knighton Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov; 'Jon Miller' JMiller@cityofmustang.org; oama (oama@lists.imla.org) oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: UTILITY ACCOUNT

I agree, and it would justify requiring a very generous utility deposit

Robert C. Thompson
Cheek & Falcone, PLLC
6301 Waterford Blvd., Suite 320
Oklahoma City, Okla. 73118
direct telephone:405-286-9560
direct fax: 405-286-9680
Firm telephone: 405-286-9191
rthompson@cheekfalcone.com mailto:rthompson@cheekfalcone.com

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE:
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From: Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:08 PM
To: 'Jon Miller' <JMiller@cityofmustang.org mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>; oama (oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org) <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>
Subject: [Oama] Re: UTILITY ACCOUNT

· Unless a statute of limitations specifically provides otherwise, statutes of limitations do not apply to the state when it is suing in its sovereign capacity. State ex rel. Oklahoma Dep't of Transp. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs for Cnty. of Comanche Cnty., 2007 OK CIV APP 126, ¶ 8, 174 P.3d 1010, 1011.

· The test to determine whether the governmental entity was acting in its sovereign capacity to vindicate public rights is whether the right is such as to affect the public generally or merely affects a class of individuals. Id.

· The following cases involve actions to recover a debt:

§ State ex rel. Oklahoma State Employment Comm'n v. Thompson, 2003 OK CIV APP 75, ¶ 7, 76 P.3d 88, 90 (Employment Security Commission brought action to enforce its recoupment determination that unemployment compensation claimant was liable for repayment of unemployment benefits received by reason of false statement or failure to disclose material fact)

§ State ex rel. Oklahoma Student Loan Auth. v. Akers, 1995 OK CIV APP 75, 900 P.2d 468 (statute of limitations, laches, and estoppel were not valid defenses to authority's action to collect student loans)

§ Lewandowski v. Lewandowski, 1993 OK CIV APP 155, 862 P.2d 86, 87 (statute of limitation did not bar DHS from seeking child support arrearages)

§ Oklahoma City Mun. Imp. Auth. v. HTB, Inc., 1988 OK 149, 769 P.2d 131 (statute of limitation did not bar the Oklahoma Municipal Authority's negligence design in construction regarding part of a municipal water system)

These cases support an argument that the statute of limitations does not apply to a municipality's attempt to collect debts for utility service. This would include refusing to initiate new service until a prior debt is satisfied.

Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman
201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070
' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | * rick.knighton@normanok.gov mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov | þ www.normanok.gov https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.normanok.gov%2f&c=E,1,B2au7wLOlGq_YL-VuGe1zVQsFUd6RgG4NQZ-aGoUAnLPygrogzztCaBfX3M1LxEArFi8o1v_PtyTAvL8s1IpWi-ffmvq7KVT6oerFWYhT0o7xSFW3Q,,&typo=1

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

From: Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 1:59 PM
To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org) <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>
Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] UTILITY ACCOUNT

City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt?

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1501 N. Mustang Road
Mustang, Oklahoma 73064
Telephone: (405) 376-7746
Facsimile: (405) 376-7721

This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

I agree; however, do you have a policy in place for requiring higher deposits from customers who have been slow- or no-pay? I think it would be best to have a policy in place to ensure equal treatment. If you have an ordinance that requires the deposit but doesn't differentiate, you may be stuck with the letter of the ordinance. Good Luck! Mark H. Ramsey For the Firm Taylor, Foster, Mallett, Downs, Ramsey & Russell, P.C. P.O. Box 309 Claremore, OK 74018 918-343-4100 918-343-4900 fax mramsey@soonerlaw.com<mailto:apixley@soonerlaw.com> The information contained in this electronic mail transmission (including any accompanying attachments) is intended solely for its authorized recipient(s), and may be confidential and/or legally privileged. If you are not an intended recipient, or responsible for delivering some or all of this transmission to an intended recipient, you have received this transmission in error and are hereby notified that you are strictly prohibited from reading, copying, printing, distributing or disclosing any of the information contained in it. In that event, please contact us immediately by telephone (918) 343-4100 or by electronic mail at postmaster@soonerlaw.com<mailto:postmaster@soonerlaw.com> and delete the original and all copies of this transmission (including any attachments) without reading or saving in any manner. Thank you. From: Robert Thompson <rthompson@cheekfalcone.com> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:11 PM To: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov>; 'Jon Miller' <JMiller@cityofmustang.org>; oama (oama@lists.imla.org) <oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: [Oama] Re: UTILITY ACCOUNT I agree, and it would justify requiring a very generous utility deposit Robert C. Thompson Cheek & Falcone, PLLC 6301 Waterford Blvd., Suite 320 Oklahoma City, Okla. 73118 direct telephone:405-286-9560 direct fax: 405-286-9680 Firm telephone: 405-286-9191 rthompson@cheekfalcone.com<mailto:rthompson@cheekfalcone.com> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE: This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential information that is protected by legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this e-mail or any attachment is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us immediately by returning it to the sender and delete this copy from your system. Thank you for your cooperation. Visit us at our website http://www.cheekfalcone.com/<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.cheekfalcone.com%2f&c=E,1,F-5OPcktbfuTb6L1j80YokyQpGWf7ZfkdGskxnlAKM7eKQ3l363cD9W5L28bJ0Ja_zSp0iiof0-BBmB5U4I4dvyEsuKDBxV4PiDtyWlKT1n_cnRazA1SIqu_&typo=1> From: Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:08 PM To: 'Jon Miller' <JMiller@cityofmustang.org<mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>>; oama (oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>) <oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>> Subject: [Oama] Re: UTILITY ACCOUNT · Unless a statute of limitations specifically provides otherwise, statutes of limitations do not apply to the state when it is suing in its sovereign capacity. State ex rel. Oklahoma Dep't of Transp. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs for Cnty. of Comanche Cnty., 2007 OK CIV APP 126, ¶ 8, 174 P.3d 1010, 1011. · The test to determine whether the governmental entity was acting in its sovereign capacity to vindicate public rights is whether the right is such as to affect the public generally or merely affects a class of individuals. Id. · The following cases involve actions to recover a debt: § State ex rel. Oklahoma State Employment Comm'n v. Thompson, 2003 OK CIV APP 75, ¶ 7, 76 P.3d 88, 90 (Employment Security Commission brought action to enforce its recoupment determination that unemployment compensation claimant was liable for repayment of unemployment benefits received by reason of false statement or failure to disclose material fact) § State ex rel. Oklahoma Student Loan Auth. v. Akers, 1995 OK CIV APP 75, 900 P.2d 468 (statute of limitations, laches, and estoppel were not valid defenses to authority's action to collect student loans) § Lewandowski v. Lewandowski, 1993 OK CIV APP 155, 862 P.2d 86, 87 (statute of limitation did not bar DHS from seeking child support arrearages) § Oklahoma City Mun. Imp. Auth. v. HTB, Inc., 1988 OK 149, 769 P.2d 131 (statute of limitation did not bar the Oklahoma Municipal Authority's negligence design in construction regarding part of a municipal water system) These cases support an argument that the statute of limitations does not apply to a municipality's attempt to collect debts for utility service. This would include refusing to initiate new service until a prior debt is satisfied. Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | * rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=http%3a%2f%2fwww.normanok.gov%2f&c=E,1,B2au7wLOlGq_YL-VuGe1zVQsFUd6RgG4NQZ-aGoUAnLPygrogzztCaBfX3M1LxEArFi8o1v_PtyTAvL8s1IpWi-ffmvq7KVT6oerFWYhT0o7xSFW3Q,,&typo=1> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney's office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. From: Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org<mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 1:59 PM To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>) <oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>> Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] UTILITY ACCOUNT City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt? Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1501 N. Mustang Road Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 Telephone: (405) 376-7746 Facsimile: (405) 376-7721 This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

BL

Ben Loring

Wed, Oct 12, 2022 7:46 PM

I found this thread to be very informative. But, I was bothered by the sovereign capacity/public right v. private right distinction. I should point out that the case of State ex rel. Bd. of County Com'rs of Muskogee County v. Shelton, 1986 OK CIV APP 11, 727 P.2d 103 does a great job of demonstrating the growth of the “public right” concept over time.
I am assuming no one has found a case, AG opinion, etc, that specifically addresses the issue of a city (or its trust authority) attempting to collect a utility debt?

Ben Loring, OBA #5529
City Attorney
PO Box 1288
Miami, OK 74355

bloring@miamiokla.net mailto:bloring@miamiokla.net

W (918) 541-2204
C (918) 533-6533

This communication is for use by the intended recipient and contains information that may be privileged, confidential, or copyrighted under law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby formally notified that any use, copying, or distribution of this email or its contents, whether in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited. If this email is received in error, please notify the sender by return email and delete this email from your system. Unless explicitly and conspicuously stated in the subject matter of the above email, this email does not constitute a contract offer, a contract amendment, or an acceptance of a contract offer. The email does not constitute consent to the use of the sender's contact information for direct marketing purposes or for transfers of data to third parties.

This communication may contain attorney-client privileged and/or attorney-work-product privileged information and such privileges will be claimed to the greatest extent allowed by law.

All emails sent and received by employees of the City of Miami are considered its property and may be subject to disclosure to the public pursuant to the Oklahoma Open Records Act.

From: Robert Thompson rthompson@cheekfalcone.com
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:11 PM
To: Rick Knighton Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov; 'Jon Miller' JMiller@cityofmustang.org; oama (oama@lists.imla.org) oama@lists.imla.org
Subject: [Oama] Re: UTILITY ACCOUNT

Caution: this email originated from an EXTERNAL SOURCE. Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the contents are safe.

I agree, and it would justify requiring a very generous utility deposit

Robert C. Thompson
Cheek & Falcone, PLLC
6301 Waterford Blvd., Suite 320
Oklahoma City, Okla. 73118
direct telephone:405-286-9560
direct fax: 405-286-9680
Firm telephone: 405-286-9191
rthompson@cheekfalcone.com mailto:rthompson@cheekfalcone.com

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE:
This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential information that is protected by legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this e-mail or any attachment is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us immediately by returning it to the sender and delete this copy from your system. Thank you for your cooperation.
Visit us at our website http://www.cheekfalcone.com/

From: Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:08 PM
To: 'Jon Miller' <JMiller@cityofmustang.org mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>; oama (oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org) <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>
Subject: [Oama] Re: UTILITY ACCOUNT

· Unless a statute of limitations specifically provides otherwise, statutes of limitations do not apply to the state when it is suing in its sovereign capacity. State ex rel. Oklahoma Dep't of Transp. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs for Cnty. of Comanche Cnty., 2007 OK CIV APP 126, ¶ 8, 174 P.3d 1010, 1011.

· The test to determine whether the governmental entity was acting in its sovereign capacity to vindicate public rights is whether the right is such as to affect the public generally or merely affects a class of individuals. Id.

· The following cases involve actions to recover a debt:

§ State ex rel. Oklahoma State Employment Comm'n v. Thompson, 2003 OK CIV APP 75, ¶ 7, 76 P.3d 88, 90 (Employment Security Commission brought action to enforce its recoupment determination that unemployment compensation claimant was liable for repayment of unemployment benefits received by reason of false statement or failure to disclose material fact)

§ State ex rel. Oklahoma Student Loan Auth. v. Akers, 1995 OK CIV APP 75, 900 P.2d 468 (statute of limitations, laches, and estoppel were not valid defenses to authority's action to collect student loans)

§ Lewandowski v. Lewandowski, 1993 OK CIV APP 155, 862 P.2d 86, 87 (statute of limitation did not bar DHS from seeking child support arrearages)

§ Oklahoma City Mun. Imp. Auth. v. HTB, Inc., 1988 OK 149, 769 P.2d 131 (statute of limitation did not bar the Oklahoma Municipal Authority’s negligence design in construction regarding part of a municipal water system)

These cases support an argument that the statute of limitations does not apply to a municipality’s attempt to collect debts for utility service. This would include refusing to initiate new service until a prior debt is satisfied.

This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message.

From: Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 1:59 PM
To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org) <oama@lists.imla.org mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>
Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] UTILITY ACCOUNT

City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt?

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1501 N. Mustang Road
Mustang, Oklahoma 73064
Telephone: (405) 376-7746
Facsimile: (405) 376-7721

This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.

I found this thread to be very informative. But, I was bothered by the sovereign capacity/public right v. private right distinction. I should point out that the case of State ex rel. Bd. of County Com'rs of Muskogee County v. Shelton, 1986 OK CIV APP 11, 727 P.2d 103 does a great job of demonstrating the growth of the “public right” concept over time. I am assuming no one has found a case, AG opinion, etc, that specifically addresses the issue of a city (or its trust authority) attempting to collect a utility debt? Ben Loring, OBA #5529 City Attorney PO Box 1288 Miami, OK 74355 bloring@miamiokla.net<mailto:bloring@miamiokla.net> W (918) 541-2204 C (918) 533-6533 This communication is for use by the intended recipient and contains information that may be privileged, confidential, or copyrighted under law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby formally notified that any use, copying, or distribution of this email or its contents, whether in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited. If this email is received in error, please notify the sender by return email and delete this email from your system. Unless explicitly and conspicuously stated in the subject matter of the above email, this email does not constitute a contract offer, a contract amendment, or an acceptance of a contract offer. The email does not constitute consent to the use of the sender's contact information for direct marketing purposes or for transfers of data to third parties. This communication may contain attorney-client privileged and/or attorney-work-product privileged information and such privileges will be claimed to the greatest extent allowed by law. All emails sent and received by employees of the City of Miami are considered its property and may be subject to disclosure to the public pursuant to the Oklahoma Open Records Act. From: Robert Thompson <rthompson@cheekfalcone.com> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:11 PM To: Rick Knighton <Rick.Knighton@NormanOK.gov>; 'Jon Miller' <JMiller@cityofmustang.org>; oama (oama@lists.imla.org) <oama@lists.imla.org> Subject: [Oama] Re: UTILITY ACCOUNT Caution: this email originated from an EXTERNAL SOURCE. Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the contents are safe. I agree, and it would justify requiring a very generous utility deposit Robert C. Thompson Cheek & Falcone, PLLC 6301 Waterford Blvd., Suite 320 Oklahoma City, Okla. 73118 direct telephone:405-286-9560 direct fax: 405-286-9680 Firm telephone: 405-286-9191 rthompson@cheekfalcone.com<mailto:rthompson@cheekfalcone.com> CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE: This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential information that is protected by legal privilege. If you are not the intended recipient, be aware that any disclosure, copying, distribution or use of this e-mail or any attachment is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us immediately by returning it to the sender and delete this copy from your system. Thank you for your cooperation. Visit us at our website http://www.cheekfalcone.com/ From: Rick Knighton via Oama <oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 3:08 PM To: 'Jon Miller' <JMiller@cityofmustang.org<mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>>; oama (oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>) <oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>> Subject: [Oama] Re: UTILITY ACCOUNT · Unless a statute of limitations specifically provides otherwise, statutes of limitations do not apply to the state when it is suing in its sovereign capacity. State ex rel. Oklahoma Dep't of Transp. v. Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs for Cnty. of Comanche Cnty., 2007 OK CIV APP 126, ¶ 8, 174 P.3d 1010, 1011. · The test to determine whether the governmental entity was acting in its sovereign capacity to vindicate public rights is whether the right is such as to affect the public generally or merely affects a class of individuals. Id. · The following cases involve actions to recover a debt: § State ex rel. Oklahoma State Employment Comm'n v. Thompson, 2003 OK CIV APP 75, ¶ 7, 76 P.3d 88, 90 (Employment Security Commission brought action to enforce its recoupment determination that unemployment compensation claimant was liable for repayment of unemployment benefits received by reason of false statement or failure to disclose material fact) § State ex rel. Oklahoma Student Loan Auth. v. Akers, 1995 OK CIV APP 75, 900 P.2d 468 (statute of limitations, laches, and estoppel were not valid defenses to authority's action to collect student loans) § Lewandowski v. Lewandowski, 1993 OK CIV APP 155, 862 P.2d 86, 87 (statute of limitation did not bar DHS from seeking child support arrearages) § Oklahoma City Mun. Imp. Auth. v. HTB, Inc., 1988 OK 149, 769 P.2d 131 (statute of limitation did not bar the Oklahoma Municipal Authority’s negligence design in construction regarding part of a municipal water system) These cases support an argument that the statute of limitations does not apply to a municipality’s attempt to collect debts for utility service. This would include refusing to initiate new service until a prior debt is satisfied. Rickey J. Knighton II | Assistant City Attorney | City of Norman 201 West Gray | P.O. Box 370 | Norman, Oklahoma 73070 ' 405.217.7700 | 6 405.366.5425 | • rick.knighton@normanok.gov<mailto:rick.knighton@normanok.gov> | þ www.normanok.gov<http://www.normanok.gov/> This e-mail is the property of the City Attorney’s office, City of Norman, Oklahoma, and the information contained in this e-mail is protected by the attorney-client and/or the attorney work product privilege. It is intended only for the use of the individual named above and the privileges are not waived by virtue of this having been sent by e-mail. If the person actually receiving this message or any other reader of the message is not the named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to the named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify us and return the original message. From: Jon Miller <JMiller@cityofmustang.org<mailto:JMiller@cityofmustang.org>> Sent: Monday, October 10, 2022 1:59 PM To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>) <oama@lists.imla.org<mailto:oama@lists.imla.org>> Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL : [Oama] UTILITY ACCOUNT City requires that a resident who has a bad debt on a prior utility account pay that bad debt before opening a new account. Resident claims city cannot require payment of the bad debt because enforcement of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations. Can a City refuse to provide utility service if customer owes a bad debt, even though customer would have a statute of limitations defense if city were suing to collect the debt? Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1501 N. Mustang Road Mustang, Oklahoma 73064 Telephone: (405) 376-7746 Facsimile: (405) 376-7721 This email is sent by the City Attorney and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this email in error, please notify the sender by reply email and delete the email and any attachments. If you are a and officer, employee or agent of the City of Mustang, you should not share this email with others. Sharing this email may result in a loss of the attorney-client privilege.