PHOENIX (AP) - The state Supreme Court is scheduled to rule Thursday on the Arizona Corporation Commission's authority to regulate the condemnation of water utilities.
The case arises from the city of Surprise's filing last year of a condemnation action against a small water utility that had agreed to serve a planned new 8,500-home master planned community.
The community's site is within both Surprise's municipal planning area and Circle City Water Co.'s territory.
The community's developers learned of the city's condemnation action and asked the Corporation Commission to block it.
The commission then began proceedings to consider the potential sale of Circle City to Surprise, but the city filed a lawsuit and obtained a court order blocking the commission proceedings.
The city filed a condemnation action against Circle City in August.
