Whether telecommunications providers have a private right of action under Section 253 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is an issue that will only be resolved in time. In November 2015, the Eighth Circuit joined the Second, Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth in holding that they do not. This decision split…
Articles Posted in Utility Law
Indiana Utility Law – Aztec Partners, LLC v. Ind. Dep’t of State Revenue
The Indiana Tax Court recently examined in Aztec Partners, LLC v. Ind. Dep’t of State Revenue, No. 49T10-1210-SC-00067, 2015 Ind. Tax LEXIS 29 (Ind. Tax Ct. June 23, 2015), whether electricity that Aztec Partners, LLC (“Aztec”), who operates nineteen Qdoba Mexican Restaurants in Indiana, used to power electrical equipment was…
Indiana Utility Law — Interpreting Land Development Contracts: Utility Connection Fees
The Indiana Court of Appeals recently interpreted a land developer’s contract with an Indiana town in Carroll Creek Development Company Inc. v. Town of Huntertown, 9 N.E.3d 702 (Ind. Ct. App 2014). The contract provided that the developers could recoup nearly five-hundred thousand dollars of their water main construction costs…
Electric Utility Law — OSHA Changes to Construction of Electrical Power Transmission Standards
OSHA’s final rule revised or implemented eleven provisions in the Construction of Electrical Power Transmission Standard, 29 CFR 1926, subpart V, including provisions regarding: (1) host employers and contractors; (2) training; (3) job briefings; (4) fall protection; (5) insulation and working on or near live parts; (6) minimum approach distances;…
Interpreting Land Development Contracts: Utility Connection Fees
The Indiana Court of Appeals recently interpreted a land developer’s contract with an Indiana town in Carroll Creek Development Company Inc. v. Town of Huntertown, 9 N.E.3d 702 (Ind. Ct. App 2014). The contract provided that the developers could recoup nearly five-hundred thousand dollars of their water main construction costs…
Drilling Down on Termination Clauses in Oils and Gas Leases L.C. Neely Drilling, Inc. v. Hoosier Energy Rural Electrical Cooperative, Inc., 8 N.E.3d 251 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014)
The Indiana Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion explaining the difference between two common types of termination clauses in oils and gas leases. The first, known as a “drill or pay” clause, obliges the lessee to either commence production within a certain timeframe or pay advance royalties, but does…
Indiana Utility Law—Failure to Supply Accurate Location of Underground Facilities Bars Negligence Suit
In January, 2014 the Indiana Court of Appeals found that failure to supply an accurate map of underground facilities may bar negligence suits against contractors who properly file an intent to excavate with the Indiana Underground Plant Protection Service in compliance with the Indiana Damage to Underground Facilities Act (DUFA).…
Indiana Utility Law: Changes to the Indiana Code for Temporary Discounts and Private Generation Projects in HEA 1423
HEA 1423 was signed into law on March 27, 2014 and it makes two important changes. 1) The new law expands the temporary discount program for companies hiring in Indiana by: reducing the threshold for utility discount applications from a maximum demand of at least ten megawatts to five megawatts…
In re: Carroll County 2012 Tax Sale (Indiana Utility Law)
An Indiana appellate court has recently upheld the judgment of a trial court, holding that a sewer lien could not be enforced by selling a property at a tax sale when that lien was the only lien that existed on the property. In In re: Carroll County 2012 Tax Sale,…
Indiana Utility Law – Municipal Eminent Domain and Condemnation of a Utilities Company: Utility Center, Inc. v. City of Fort Wayne, 985 N.E.2d 731 (Ind. 2013)
The Indiana Supreme Court recently reversed the judgment of a trial court which had granted a city’s motion to strike the jury trial request of a utility companies and the city’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings in a case where the utility company challenged the compensation amount awarded…