St. Laurent, et al. v. Middleborough Gas & Electric Department (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-039-18)
Municipal gas and electric department qualifies as public employer under Massachusetts Tort Claims Act despite separate legal status from town.
Electric
OneBeacon America Insurance Company v. Narragansett Electric Company v. American Home Assurance Company, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-112-16)
Choice of law for insurance contracts covering environmental contamination: Massachusetts law applies despite Rhode Island location and operations.
Bellermann, et al. v. Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-110-16)
Customers cannot establish economic injury under consumer protection law by claiming they overpaid for utility services based on the utility's failure to comply with emergency preparedness regulations when no emergency occurred during the relevant period.
OneBeacon America Insurance Company v. Narragansett Electric Company v. American Home Assurance Company, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 11-055-15)
Environmental insurance coverage dispute involving contamination at multiple sites. Court applies Massachusetts statute of limitations to breach of contract claims and reverses certain summary judgments where material fact questions existed regarding insurer disclaimers.
Maryland Casualty Company, et al. v. NSTAR Electric Company, et al. (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-079-15)
Electric utility's tariff-approved limitation on liability for special, indirect, or consequential damages bars insurance subrogees' claims for business interruption despite allegations of gross negligence.
Bellerman, et al. v. Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-180-14)
Class certification denied where causation of injury required individualized proof despite company's established systemic failures during ice storm.
Massachusetts Electric Company, et al. v. Department of Public Utilities (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-153-14)
Electric utilities challenged storm-response penalties. The court held the DPU correctly applied a reasonableness standard rather than industry-based prudence, vacated penalties unsupported by substantial evidence on specific days, and affirmed the remainder.
Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company, et al. v. Department of Public Utilities (Lawyers Weekly No. 10-068-14)
Supreme Judicial Court affirmed that assessments for storm preparedness investigations do not constitute an unconstitutional taking when companies cannot pass costs to consumers, provided the department ensures adequate rates of return.