Powerex

California Dept. of Water Resources v. Powerex Corp.

Good Law

653 F. Supp. 2d 1057·2009 WL 2905740·2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86174

United States District Court, Eastern District of CaliforniaSeptember 4, 20092:05-cr-00518California2,761 words

Opinion

Burrell, J.

ORDER

On August 17, 2009, a hearing was held on Defendant Powerex Corp.’s (“Powerex”) motion for a stay or dismissal of this action, based on the argument that the California Attorney General (“CAG”) has recently caused all issues involved with Plaintiff California Department of Water Resources’ (“CDWR”) state claims in this federal district court case to be pending at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”). Specifically, Powerex argues CDWR’s three state claims in this federal court case all require a finding on “the predicate act” whether Powerex engaged in illegal market manipulation, which Powerex contends is the same issue squarely before FERC today. CDWR opposes the motion, arguing FERC will not reach the issues CDWR seeks to have determined in this federal district court case.

BACKGROUND

CDWR, “by and through its California Energy Resources Scheduling Division” (“CERS”), filed its Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) in this federal court case on September 22, 2008. (SAC Preface.) CDWR alleges in the SAC that the following occurred “during the California energy crisis of 2001”:

(SAC ¶¶ 1-3) (emphasis added). CDWR argues the contracts and transactions are void…

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