D.C. Circuit Sides with State Petitioners Challenging Reliability-Must-Run Agreement Rates for Mystic Units 8 & 9 and Everett LNG Terminal
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP attorneys achieved a significant victory that should reduce the bills paid by New England wholesale electric ratepayers to retain two gas-fired generators and their affiliated fuel supplier. In 2018, the owner of Mystic Units 8 & 9 moved to retire the generators, but the system operator, ISO New England (“ISO-NE”) found that the units were...U.S. Court of Federal Claims Rules for Northern California Power Agency and California Cities
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP attorneys achieved another milestone in a lawsuit brought by the Northern California Power Agency (“NCPA”) and the cities of Redding, Roseville and Santa Clara, California, to recover overcharges imposed on them by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (“CVPIA”). NCPA and the cities buy hydroelectric power generated by the Bureau’s...D.C. Circuit Vacates FERC’s Methodology for Calculating Returns on Equity
The D.C. Circuit vacated and remanded Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) Opinions No. 569 and 569-A, which had established a new way to set the allowed profit (return on equity, or “ROE”) for electric transmission investment in the extensive Midcontinent Independent System Operator (“MISO”) area. Spiegel partner David Pomper argued the ROE methodology issues on behalf of our clients (Mississippi...D.C. Circuit Vacates FERC’s Orders that had Increased Transmission Costs to Kentucky Municipals
On August 5, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) orders “re-pancaking” electric transmission rates across the seam between the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) transmission grid and that of Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company (together, LG&E/KU). Ky. Mun. Energy Agency v. FERC, Nos. 19-1236 et...Chambers and Super Lawyers Again Recognize Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP
Bayne, Bogorad, Nurani, Pomper, Schwarz, Strauss Highlighted
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP thanks our clients for their continued support and confidence as reflected in the recognition the firm has recently received from Chambers USA. For the ninth consecutive year, Chambers & Partners has recognized Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP as one of the nation’s leading law firms in the area of “Energy: Electricity...Appeals Court Rules in Cases on Distribution System Access and Fairness of Service
On January 25, 2022, finding that FERC’s decisions “present a troubling pattern of inattentiveness to potential anti-competitive effects of PG&E’s administration of its open-access Tariff,” the D.C. Circuit issued a combined opinion granting San Francisco’s petitions for review of two separate Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) orders. The two cases involved longstanding disputes with Pacific Gas and Electric Company...First Circuit Upholds Maine Law Ensuring Nondiscriminatory Treatment of Public, Educational, and Governmental Access Channels
On August 3, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed a district court decision that upheld a 2019 Maine law requiring nondiscriminatory treatment of public, educational, and governmental (“PEG”) access channels. The First Circuit’s decision is a major victory for PEG access centers, which have long been subject to inequitable treatment from cable operators. A...Sixth Circuit Delivers Mixed Results in Appeal of FCC’s Franchise Fee Order
On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an opinion granting in part and denying in part the consolidated petitions for review of the Federal Communications Commission’s Franchise Fee Order. City of Eugene, Or. v. FCC, No. 19-4161 (6th Cir. May 26, 2021). The Franchise Fee Order ruled that most nonmonetary, cable-related obligations...Chambers and Super Lawyers Again Recognize Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP
Bogorad, Pomper, Strauss Highlighted
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP thanks our clients for their continued support and confidence as reflected in the recognition the firm has recently received from Chambers USA. For the eighth consecutive year, Chambers & Partners has recognized Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP as one of the nation’s leading law firms in the area of “Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation)...D.C. Circuit Upholds FERC Reduction of Transco Adder
On February 19, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion affirming Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) orders reducing the return on equity (“ROE”) adders paid to three stand-alone transmission companies (“transcos”) operating in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) footprint. Int’l Transmission Co. v. FERC, No. 19-1190 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 19,...Chambers Global Again Recognizes Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP
Bogorad, Strauss Ranked
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP wishes to thank our clients for their continued support and confidence as reflected in the recognition the firm has recently received from Chambers Global. Chambers & Partners has again recognized Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP as one of the nation’s leading law firms in the area of “Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation) — Nationwide.” Chambers...Bogorad, Pomper, Schwarz and Strauss Named 2020 “Super Lawyers” and Bayne and Nurani Named “Rising Stars” in Energy & Natural Resources
Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP is proud to announce that Cindy Bogorad, David Pomper, Jeff Schwarz and Scott Strauss have been selected as 2020 Washington DC “Super Lawyers” in the practice area of Energy & Natural Resources, and Jeff Bayne and Latif Nurani have been newly selected as “Rising Stars.” Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of...Spiegel Attorneys Defend Constitutionality of PEG Access Channels Before Supreme Court
Spiegel attorneys Jim Horwood, Tim Lay, Peter Hopkins, Jeff Bayne, and Amanda Drennen filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court defending the constitutionality of the thousands of public, educational, and government (“PEG”) access cable channels that serve communities across the United States. The brief, submitted on behalf of the Alliance for Community Media, the Alliance for Communications...Spiegel Attorneys Honored by NHMC
The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) has selected Spiegel & McDiarmid LLP to receive its 2018 Impact Award for Outstanding Advocates. The award “recognize[s] policymakers that are working to bridge the digital divide and enact policies that protect the interests of Latinos and other people of color.” According to NHMC, Spiegel’s “pro bono representation in the Net Neutrality litigation...Spiegel & McDiarmid Attorneys Represent the National Hispanic Media Coalition in Challenging the FCC’s Net Neutrality Repeal
On August 20, 2018, a group of public interest organizations, internet companies, and competitive carriers dedicated to protecting an open internet filed their initial brief in the court challenge to the FCC’s repeal of its prior open internet rules. The brief is available at the link below. Spiegel & McDiarmid attorneys Jim Horwood, Tim Lay, Jeff Bayne, and Kat...Scholars Argue Defamation Suit Should Proceed
Spiegel & McDiarmid attorneys Katie Mapes and Kat O’Konski served as amicus counsel to First Amendment and media law scholars who urged the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia to allow a defamation suit to proceed against Infowars’ Alex Jones and others. The brief was featured in an August 8, 2018, New York Times article. Gilmore v. Jones, Case...
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Federal Appeals Court Upholds FERC Order Requiring Equitable Treatment of Mississippi Ratepayers
In the attached opinion issued June 1, 2018, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Judge Sentelle affirms FERC’s decision to require Entergy Arkansas to continue sharing with its Mississippi and Louisiana affiliates, notwithstanding its withdrawal from the Entergy System Agreement, the benefits of a settlement agreement with the Union Pacific railroad. The settlement arose from...Port of Portland Prevails in Dispute over Payment of PDX’s Utility Bills
The Federal Aviation Administration rejected claims brought against the Port of Portland by the Air Transport Association of America d/b/a Airlines for America and the airlines serving the Portland International Airport. At issue was whether the Port, which owns and operates PDX, is violating federal law when paying certain utility charges to the City of Portland as part of...D.C. Circuit Upholds Structure of the CFPB.
Spiegel Attorneys File Brief in Supreme Court Antitrust State-Action Immunity Case on Behalf of State and Local Government Associations.
2022 Chambers & Partners USA and 2022 Chambers Global recognize Spiegel & McDiarmid as a leading law firm in the area of “Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation).”
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