77-3-67 - Appeals to chancery court.
§ 77-3-67. Appeals to chancery court.
(1) In addition to other remedies now available at law or in equity, any party aggrieved by any final finding, order or judgment of the commission, except those final findings, orders or judgments specified in Section 77-3-72, shall have the right, regardless of the amount involved, of appeal to the chancery court of the judicial district in which the principal place of business of the utility in the state of Mississippi is located. If the court shall find that the appeal has been to the improper venue then the cause shall not be dismissed for such reason but shall be transferred to such proper venue. If an application for rehearing has been filed, an appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days after the application for rehearing has been refused or deemed refused because of the commission's failure to act thereon within the time specified in Section 77-3-65 or, if the application is granted, within thirty (30) days after the rendition of the decision on rehearing. If an application for rehearing has not been filed, an appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days after the entry of the commission's order. Every appeal shall state briefly the nature of the proceedings before the commission, and shall specify the order complained of. Any person whose rights may be directly affected by said appeal may appear and become a party, or the court may upon proper notice order any person to be joined as a party.
(2) Upon the filing of an appeal the clerk of the chancery court shall serve notice thereof upon the commission, whereupon the commission shall, within sixty (60) days (or within such additional time as the court may for cause allow) from the service of such notice, certify to the chancery court the record in the case, which record shall include a transcript of all testimony, together with all exhibits or copies thereof, all pleadings, proceedings, orders, findings and opinions entered in the case. However, the parties and the commission may stipulate that a specified portion only of the record shall be certified to the court as the record on appeal.
(3) No new or additional evidence shall be introduced in the chancery court but the case shall be determined upon the record and evidence transferred.
(4) The court may hear and dispose of the appeal in termtime or vacation and the court may sustain or dismiss the appeal, modify or vacate the order complained of in whole or in part, as the case may be. In case the order is wholly or partly vacated the court may also, in its discretion, remand the matter to the commission for such further proceedings, not inconsistent with the court's order as, in the opinion of the court, justice may require. The order shall not be vacated or set aside either in whole or in part, except for errors of law, unless the court finds that the order of the commission is not supported by substantial evidence, is contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence, is in excess of the statutory authority or jurisdiction of the commission, or violates constitutional rights.
Sources: Codes, 1942, § 7716-26; Laws, 1956, ch. 372, § 26; Laws, 1978, ch. 507, § 2; Laws, 1983, ch. 467, § 25, eff from and after January 3, 1984. [See Editor's Note, below].