Last Friday, the Indiana Court of Appeals backed a decision by the state’s Utility Regulatory Commission forcing Duke to foot the bill for $11.6 million in repair costs following ice storm damage incurred in 2009.
Uncomfortable light
According to a report in US magazine Insurance Journal, the appeal court ruled the commission was not obliged to explain why it reversed an earlier decision in favour of Duke, which is understood to be the largest electric power holding company in the country.
The ruling re-focussed an uncomfortable light on the role of Duke’s former general counsel in the case. According to a report in Corporate Counsel magazine, not long after the commission originally supported the company’s request to pass on the repair costs to Indiana customers, it emerged that Duke had offered Scott Storms an in-house legal role – despite the fact that he was at the time general counsel at the regulatory commission.
Not only that, the magazine reports that Mr Storms was also sitting as an administrative law judge, hearing cases involving Duke Energy rate requests. Ultimately, Duke sacked Mr Storms, and, says the report, the executive responsible for recruiting him.
Fined and barred
The magazine goes on to say that the Indiana Ethics Commission ruled that Mr Storms had violated state law and hit him with a $12,000 fine and barred him from working for the state again.
Corporate Counsel said Mr Storms was unavailable for comment, but that Duke executives are considering appealing the latest court ruling. The company instructed the Indianapolis office of law firm Faegre Baker Daniels, while Cincinnati-based Frost Brown Todd acted for the Indiana Energy Association.
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