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NC regulators hire law firm to probe Duke Energy
Legal Line News |
2012/08/17 11:02
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North Carolina utilities regulators said Wednesday they have hired a former federal prosecutor with experience digging into corporate affairs to reveal whether regulators were misled ahead of a takeover that created America's largest electric company.
The North Carolina Utilities Commission said it has hired Anton Valukas and the Jenner & Block law firm, which he heads in Chicago. The ex-prosecutor and his firm are tasked with investigating what happened before regulators approved Charlotte-based Duke Energy Corp. taking over Raleigh-based Progress Energy Inc.
State law allows the costs associated with the utilities commission's investigation to be charged to Duke Energy and its shareholders rather than allowing the company to pass them along to its 3.2 million North Carolina customers.
A Duke Energy spokesman said the company was cooperating with regulators in their investigation.
The company on Wednesday separately sought to begin passing along to Carolinas energy consumers the first $89 million of $650 million in merger-related savings promised over the next five years. If that is approved, the average residential customer in North Carolina and South Carolina could save between 80 cents and 92 cents a month beginning in September. |
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Court sides with NJ judges in pension dispute
Legal Line News |
2012/07/27 11:30
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New Jersey's Supreme Court dealt a partial defeat to one of Gov. Chris Christie's signature legislative accomplishments Tuesday when it ruled that the state's judges don't have to contribute more to their pensions and health benefits. A leading state lawmaker immediately said the battle over the matter would continue.
The narrow 3-2 decision sided with a legal challenge filed last year by a state Superior Court judge in Hudson County who argued that the law imposing the pension and health care benefits changes violated a part of the state constitution that set judges' salaries and said they cannot be reduced.
The justices noted in their ruling that without a corresponding salary increase, the increased contributions would eventually cost judges at least $17,000 annually in take-home pay, amounting to a pay cut of more than 10 percent.
Christie, a Republican, had worked with the Democratic-controlled Legislature to pass the law last year. It affects hundreds of thousands of government workers around the state in addition to between 400 and 500 sitting judges and justices. |
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Class-action lawsuit filed against Mountain State
Legal Line News |
2012/07/20 12:11
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Three students are suing Mountain State University, former President Charles Polk and the Board of Trustees over the school's revoked accreditation, saying it renders their degrees worthless.
Dale Burger and his two children, Amanda and Jeff Burger, are seeking class-action status for their case, filed late Wednesday in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
Some 3,000 students were enrolled as of April, the lawsuit says. But the plaintiffs contend that the class should cover anyone who enrolled since July 10, 2008. That's when the school first learned it might be in trouble.
The lawsuit says Mountain State told students it was in sound shape when it knew otherwise.
A spokesman declined comment on the lawsuit Thursday.
The private Beckley-based school has campuses in West Virginia, Florida, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Mountain State is appealing the Higher Learning Commission's decision to withdraw general accreditation.
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Solar firm that got DOE loan to declare bankruptcy
Legal Line News |
2012/07/01 14:59
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A Colorado-based solar panel maker that received a $400 million loan guarantee from the Obama administration said Thursday it will file for bankruptcy, the latest setback for an industry battered by the recession and stiff competition from companies in China. Abound Solar of Loveland, Colo., said it will suspend operations next week, after talks with potential buyers broke down. The company received about $70 million from the Energy Department before officials froze its credit line last year. Abound is the third clean-energy company to seek bankruptcy protection after receiving a loan from the Energy Department under the economic stimulus law. California solar panel maker Solyndra and Beacon Power, a Massachusetts energy-storage firm, declared bankruptcy last year. Solyndra received a $528 million federal loan, while Beacon Power got a $43 million loan guarantee. |
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