FPL Urges Rejection of Irma Arguments

Article reposted with permission from The News Service of Florida.

Pointing to what it described as “recycled arguments,” Florida Power & Light has urged an appeals court to reject a rehearing request in a lawsuit alleging the utility did not meet obligations to help prevent power outages during Hurricane Irma. FPL attorneys Friday filed a 35-page brief that said the 3rd District Court of Appeal should not reconsider a May 22 ruling that dealt a blow to the lawsuit. In that ruling, a three-judge panel of the court backed FPL’s arguments that the state Public Service Commission has authority to determine whether the utility met obligations during the hurricane. The panel reversed decisions that said customers could pursue a class-action lawsuit against FPL. The panel sent the case back to Miami-Dade County circuit court and ordered a judge to stay the lawsuit while “threshold issues” are resolved. The plaintiffs’ attorneys filed a motion this month requesting a rehearing — or possibly for the Miami-based appeals court to send the dispute to the Florida Supreme Court. But in the brief Friday, FPL’s attorneys said the panel ruled correctly and that such issues should go before the Public Service Commission. “There is nothing unreasonable, let alone absurd, about assigning jurisdiction over complex regulatory questions to the PSC,” the brief said. Another panel of the appeals court in March 2023 upheld a circuit judge’s certification of a class action. But a little more than a month later, the Legislature passed a measure that gave the Public Service Commission authority to resolve issues about disaster preparedness and response. After Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the law, FPL renewed efforts at the appeals court to block the class action. The panel’s May 22 ruling did not end the lawsuit but would lead to the issues going to the Public Service Commission. The lawsuit alleges that FPL did not meet obligations such as carrying out a storm-hardening plan, replacing aging poles and adequately clearing vegetation near lines. Irma made landfall in September 2017 in Monroe County as a Category 4 storm and caused widespread damage and power outages as it barreled up the state.