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ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT William P. McCall, III Jeffersonville, Indiana

ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE Leslie D. Merkley Jeffersonville, Indiana R. Scott Lewis Jeffersonville, Indiana

______________________________________________________________________________

In the

Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 10S01-0805-CV-302 PINNACLE PROPERTIES DEVELOPMENT GROUP, LLC,

FILED
Sep 17 2008, 9:27 am
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

CLERK

Appellant (Plaintiff below), v. CITY OF JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA, Appellee (Defendant below). _________________________________ Appeal from the Clark County Circuit Court, No. 10C01-0512-PL-784 The Honorable Daniel F. Donahue, Judge _________________________________ On Petition to Transfer from the Indiana Court of Appeals, No. 10A01-0610-CV-422 _________________________________ September 17, 2008 Boehm, Justice. The City of Jeffersonville provides sewer service under the general statute authorizing municipalities to provide this service. The City bills tenants directly for sewer service. We hold that the City may transfer a tenant's delinquent balance to the property owner's account without notice to the owner because the property owner is ultimately responsible for payment of sewer fees.

Facts and Procedural History Pinnacle Properties Development Group, LLC owns rental properties in the City of Jeffersonville. Pinnacle's leases provide that its tenants are responsible for utilities, including sewer service. A city ordinance authorizes the City to bill tenants directly for sewer service unless the property owner requests otherwise. Jeffersonville, Ind., Ordinance 90-OR-60 (Dec. 12, 1990). Apparently Pinnacle has made no such request, and the City bills Pinnacle's tenants directly for sewer service. When a lease terminates, the City sends a final bill to the tenant. If that bill remains unpaid for sixty days, the City automatically transfers any delinquent balance to Pinnacle's account for the property, or occasionally to the account of new tenants at the same address. Although the City may collect these delinquent balances by foreclosing on the properties, it has not done so against any of Pinnacle's properties. Pinnacle objected to the City's transferring of delinquent balances to the owner, claiming it caused Pinnacle "an extraordinary amount of unnecessary paperwork and costs." Pinnacle then brought this action, seeking a declaratory judgment that the City lacked legal authority to transfer delinquent balances. The trial court found that the City had complied with all statutes and ordinances, and that chapter 36-9-23 of the Indiana Code authorized the City to bill Pinnacle for sewer bills incurred by its tenants. The Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the ordinance and statutes do not explicitly authorize the collection of tenants' delinquent balances by transferring them to the property owner's account. Pinnacle Props. Dev. Group, LLC v. City of Jeffersonville, 875 N.E.2d 301, 303

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