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Supreme Court No. 2004-195-Appeal. (KC 00-941) Narragansett Electric Company v. Bernard J. Carbone et al. : : :

NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the Rhode Island Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Opinion Analyst, Supreme Court of Rhode Island, 250 Benefit Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02903, at Telephone 2223258 of any typographical or other formal errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is published.

Supreme Court No. 2004-195-Appeal. (KC 00-941) Narragansett Electric Company v. Bernard J. Carbone et al. : : :

Present: Williams, C.J., Goldberg, Flaherty, Suttell, and Robinson, JJ. OPINION Justice Suttell, for the Court. The illegal diversion of electricity powers this appeal. An underground aluminum bypass conductor leading from the front yard of the defendants' home to an "unmetered" electrical panel in the garage allowed the defendants to receive a substantial amount of electrical service for which they were not billed. The defendants, Bernard J. and Marsha Carbone, appeal from a judgment of the Superior Court in favor of the plaintiff, Narragansett Electric Company, on its claims for conversion and unjust enrichment. This case came before the Supreme Court for oral argument pursuant to an order directing the parties to show cause why the issues raised in this appeal should not be decided summarily. After considering the written and oral submissions of the parties and examining the record, we are of the opinion that the issues raised in this appeal may be resolved without further briefing or argument. For the reasons set forth herein, we affirm the judgment of the Superior Court. I Facts and Procedural History The defendants built their house at 90 Ann Drive in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and began living there in December 1986. According to plaintiff, it supplied electricity to the home since December 18, 1986. In early 1998, plaintiff reviewed electrical consumption records for

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the premises and suspected low-usage patterns with respect to the known equipment on the premises. The review also revealed that the consumption pattern was "flat, without seasonal variations." For a period of approximately eighteen months, Narragansett Electric monitored the amount of electricity that flowed into defendants' house by installing three check meters on the "pad-mounted transformer"1 that was on the street in front of 90 Ann Drive. The plaintiff also replaced the billing meter at defendants' residence to ensure that it was reading accurately. The monthly readings on the check meters were compared with monthly readings taken on the billing meter located on the premises. From this investigation, plaintiff discovered that a large amount of electricity was flowing into defendants' home that was not being read by defendants' billing meter and for which defendants were not being billed. On September 7, 2000, personnel from Narragansett Electric and the State Police entered 90 Ann Drive to execute a search warrant. During the search, Mr. Carbone disclosed the location of an underground bypass conductor that had been diverting electricity away from the home's billing meter to the unmetered panel in the garage. Narragansett Electric workers dug up the two ends of the bypass, conducted amperage tests on the wires emanating from both the metered and unmetered panels, and took an inventory of all items and appliances that consumed electricity on the premises. Thereafter, plaintiff presented defendants with a bill for the amounts of electricity that it believed defendants had consumed through the illegal bypass since 1986.

A "pad-mounted transformer" feeds electricity from a site outside private property to that private property, unless the electric company determines that the customer has the potential to exceed a certain transformer capacity, in which case the customer is required to provide space on the private property to install a transformer. Information and Requirements for Electric Service for National Grid USA 38, 61 (2000).

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Subsequently, on December 20, 2000, plaintiff filed a civil action against defendants seeking damages for book account (count 1), conversion (count 2), unjust enrichment (count 3), and for a doubling of damages, pursuant to G.L. 1956

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