THE ISSUES OF COURT REDRESS TO A UTILITY RESOURCE CONSUMER: A CASE OF OVERPAYMENT DUE TO THE UNREASONABLE PRICE (TARIFF) OR UNJUST STANDARD CONSUMPTION RATE
Introduction: the paper considers the issues of court redress to a consumer of a utility resource due to the establishment of an unreasonable price (tariff) or unjust standard con-sumption rate by a regulatory legal act. Purpose: to develop a proposal to improve the pro-cedural legislation and its application by general jurisdiction courts and arbitration courts in the appropriate category of cases. Methods: the methodological framework of the research is based on the dialectical method of scientific cognition. The author uses both general scientific methods (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction) and specific scientific methods (formal-legal and comparative law ones). Results: the paper analyzes the practice of applica-tion of civil and procedural law by the courts when considering cases involving damages for the overpayment to a utility resource consumer due to unreasonable prices (tariffs) or unjust standard consumption rate being established by a regulatory legal act. It defines the main contradictions and flaws, including those caused by the imperfection of the current legisla-tion. Conclusions: in a situation when public authorities set an illegal tariff or standard con-sumption rate for a utility resource, it is possible to protect the consumer’s rights by filing a claim against the supplier for recovery of unjust enrichment as well as by making a claim against the public entity for the damages to be paid from its treasury. To provide the complete constitutional right to judicial protection, there should be made some amendments to the pro-visions of clause 1 of Part 4 of Article 392 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Fe-deration, clause 1, Part 3 of Article 311 of the Commercial Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, clause 1, Part 1 of Article 350 of the Code of Administrative Procedure of the Russian Federation for reviewing judicial acts in the cases when regulatory legal acts are recognized as invalid from the date other than the date of their publication. It is also neces-sary to specify the grounds for recognition of a regulatory legal act as invalid from a particu-lar date in the Code of Administrative Procedure of the Russian Federation.