Pac. Gas & Elec. Co. v. Hart High-Voltage Apparatus Repair & Testing Co.

*419 Plaintiff Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) sued defendant HART High-Voltage Apparatus Repair and Testing Co., Inc. (HART) for negligently servicing a large transformer at a hydroelectric power plant and for damages under Public Utilities Code 1 section 7952. PG&E alleged it incurred direct and indirect costs of approximately $8.1 million.

HART filed a motion for summary adjudication that challenged all of PG&E's causes of action. 2 The trial court determined the evidence showed MID owned the power plant and the transformer allegedly damaged by *420 HART. The court concluded that because PG&E did not own the transformer, PG&E could not prove essential elements of its causes of action for negligence and damages under section 7952.

In the unpublished parts of this opinion addressing PG&E's negligence cause of action, we conclude (1) PG&E has standing to sue if it is a "real party in interest" pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 367 and (2) the evidence presented shows PG&E held sufficient interests in the transformer and the electricity it delivered to qualify as a real party in interest. Using the "bundle of sticks" metaphor in which each stick represents a…