{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/56-83.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/56-83.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/56-83.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/56-83.html"}],"law_id":75136,"edition_id":1,"section_id":75136,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-83","catch_line":"Summary order prohibiting payment of dividends to affiliates","history":"1938, p. 21; Michie Code 1942, \u00a7 3774i1.","full_text":"The Commission may, of its own motion, whenever facts of record in any department of the Commission or within its knowledge appear to justify it in so doing, or upon complaint by the Commonwealth, and after reasonable notice, and opportunity to be heard, and upon hearing and consideration, either formal or informal, issue a summary order prohibiting any public service company from declaring or paying any dividend on any common or equity stock in any case in which such dividend or any part thereof would be payable to an affiliated interest as defined in \u00a7 56-76, and such summary order may, in case of emergency, be issued under like circumstances as preliminary injunctions are issued by the courts of equity of this Commonwealth, and in either case such summary order so issued may thereafter be made permanent, or be modified, or be vacated, after such investigation and hearing as may be proper to satisfy the requirements of due process of law. The jurisdiction of the Commission under this section shall be based upon considerations of public interest, and the summary order herein provided for shall be issued only upon a finding that the declaration or payment of any dividends is, as a matter of fact, inconsistent with the public interest on account of the probability of disabling the public service company from continuing to perform adequately its public duties, or that there is a purpose on the part of such affiliated interest to gain unjust advantage or profit to the probable detriment of the public service company, bondholders, other classes of stockholders, or any others having rights in the premises.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":269842,"text":"The Commission may, of its own motion, whenever facts of record in any department of the Commission or within its knowledge appear to justify it in so doing, or upon complaint by the Commonwealth, and after reasonable notice, and opportunity to be heard, and upon hearing and consideration, either formal or informal, issue a summary order prohibiting any public service company from declaring or paying any dividend on any common or equity stock in any case in which such dividend or any part thereof would be payable to an affiliated interest as defined in \u00a7 56-76, and such summary order may, in case of emergency, be issued under like circumstances as preliminary injunctions are issued by the courts of equity of this Commonwealth, and in either case such summary order so issued may thereafter be made permanent, or be modified, or be vacated, after such investigation and hearing as may be proper to satisfy the requirements of due process of law. The jurisdiction of the Commission under this section shall be based upon considerations of public interest, and the summary order herein provided for shall be issued only upon a finding that the declaration or payment of any dividends is, as a matter of fact, inconsistent with the public interest on account of the probability of disabling the public service company from continuing to perform adequately its public duties, or that there is a purpose on the part of such affiliated interest to gain unjust advantage or profit to the probable detriment of the public service company, bondholders, other classes of stockholders, or any others having rights in the premises.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":14481,"edition_id":1,"name":"Regulation of Relations With Affiliated Interests","identifier":"4","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12881,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:48:17","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:48:17","permalink":{"id":251097,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14481,"identifier":"4","token":"56\/4","url":"\/56\/4\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12881,"edition_id":1,"name":"Public Service Companies","identifier":"56","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:58","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:58","permalink":{"id":248473,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12881,"identifier":"56","token":"56","url":"\/56\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":58706,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-76","catch_line":"Definitions","url":"\/56-76\/","token":"56\/4\/56-76","metadata":false},{"id":55874,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-77","catch_line":"Certain contracts must be approved by the Commission","url":"\/56-77\/","token":"56\/4\/56-77","metadata":false},{"id":81232,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-78","catch_line":"Exclusion from accounts of payments to affiliated companies","url":"\/56-78\/","token":"56\/4\/56-78","metadata":false},{"id":84568,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-79","catch_line":"Proof of costs in cases of payment to affiliated companies","url":"\/56-79\/","token":"56\/4\/56-79","metadata":false},{"id":57044,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-80","catch_line":"Continuing supervisory control over terms and conditions of contracts","url":"\/56-80\/","token":"56\/4\/56-80","metadata":false},{"id":75419,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-81","catch_line":"Summary order prohibiting treatment of payments as operating expenses, etc","url":"\/56-81\/","token":"56\/4\/56-81","metadata":false},{"id":72660,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-82","catch_line":"Approval of loans to affiliates, etc","url":"\/56-82\/","token":"56\/4\/56-82","metadata":false},{"id":75136,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-83","catch_line":"Summary order prohibiting payment of dividends to affiliates","url":"\/56-83\/","token":"56\/4\/56-83","metadata":false},{"id":78171,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-84","catch_line":"Application or petition by public service company and affiliates; hearing; action of Commission; conditions imposed on foreign corporations","url":"\/56-84\/","token":"56\/4\/56-84","metadata":false},{"id":71714,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-85","catch_line":"Offenses","url":"\/56-85\/","token":"56\/4\/56-85","metadata":false},{"id":72643,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-86","catch_line":"Appeal from decisions of Commission under chapter","url":"\/56-86\/","token":"56\/4\/56-86","metadata":false},{"id":86159,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-87","catch_line":"Rules of Commission to carry out chapter","url":"\/56-87\/","token":"56\/4\/56-87","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":72660,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-82","catch_line":"Approval of loans to affiliates, etc","url":"\/56-82\/","token":"56\/4\/56-82","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":78171,"structure_id":14481,"section_number":"56-84","catch_line":"Application or petition by public service company and affiliates; hearing; action of Commission; conditions imposed on foreign corporations","url":"\/56-84\/","token":"56\/4\/56-84","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/56-83\/","history_text":false,"references":false,"refers_to":[{"id":58706,"section_number":"56-76","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/56-76\/"}],"permalink":{"id":251127,"object_type":"law","relational_id":75136,"identifier":"56-83","token":"56\/4\/56-83","url":"\/56-83\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/56-83\/","token":"56\/4\/56-83","dublin_core":{"Title":"Summary order prohibiting payment of dividends to affiliates","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 56-83","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Commission<\/span> may, of its own motion<\/span>, whenever facts<\/span> of record in any department of the Commission<\/span> or within its knowledge appear to justify it in so doing, or upon complaint by the Commonwealth, and after reasonable notice, and opportunity to be heard, and upon hearing<\/span> and consideration, either formal or informal, issue<\/span> a summary order<\/span> prohibiting any public service company<\/span> from declaring or paying any dividend on any common or equity<\/span> stock in any case in which such dividend or any part thereof would be payable to an affiliated interest<\/span> as defined in \u00a7 56-76<\/a>, and such summary order<\/span> may, in case of emergency, be issued under like circumstances as preliminary injunctions<\/span> are issued by the courts<\/span> of equity<\/span> of this Commonwealth, and in either case such summary order<\/span> so issued may thereafter be made permanent, or be modified, or be vacated, after such investigation and hearing<\/span> as may be proper to satisfy the requirements of due process<\/span> of law<\/span>. The jurisdiction<\/span> of the Commission<\/span> under this section shall be based upon considerations of public interest, and the summary order<\/span> herein provided for shall be issued only upon a finding<\/span> that the declaration or payment of any dividends is, as a matter of fact<\/span>, inconsistent with the public interest on account of the probability of disabling the public service company<\/span> from continuing to perform adequately its public duties, or that there is a purpose on the part of such affiliated interest<\/span> to gain unjust advantage or profit to the probable detriment of the public service company<\/span>, bondholders, other classes of stockholders, or any others having rights in the premises.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nSUMMARY ORDER PROHIBITING PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS TO AFFILIATES (\u00a7 56-83)\n\nThe Commission may, of its own motion, whenever facts of record in any\ndepartment of the Commission or within its knowledge appear to justify it in so\ndoing, or upon complaint by the Commonwealth, and after reasonable notice, and\nopportunity to be heard, and upon hearing and consideration, either formal or\ninformal, issue a summary order prohibiting any public service company from\ndeclaring or paying any dividend on any common or equity stock in any case in\nwhich such dividend or any part thereof would be payable to an affiliated\ninterest as defined in \u00a7 56-76, and such summary order may, in case of\nemergency, be issued under like circumstances as preliminary injunctions are\nissued by the courts of equity of this Commonwealth, and in either case such\nsummary order so issued may thereafter be made permanent, or be modified, or be\nvacated, after such investigation and hearing as may be proper to satisfy the\nrequirements of due process of law. The jurisdiction of the Commission under\nthis section shall be based upon considerations of public interest, and the\nsummary order herein provided for shall be issued only upon a finding that the\ndeclaration or payment of any dividends is, as a matter of fact, inconsistent\nwith the public interest on account of the probability of disabling the public\nservice company from continuing to perform adequately its public duties, or that\nthere is a purpose on the part of such affiliated interest to gain unjust\nadvantage or profit to the probable detriment of the public service company,\nbondholders, other classes of stockholders, or any others having rights in the\npremises.\n\nHISTORY: 1938, p. 21; Michie Code 1942, \u00a7 3774i1.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}