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Municipal Law

Judgment Given: Citizens Challenging a Municipal Utility Ordinance Must Seek Administrative Remedies Before Turning to Civil Court “Municipal/Utility Law – Graham v Brownsburg (May 21, 2019)”

Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP | Aug 12, 2019 | Municipal Law, Utility Law

In July 2018, the town of Brownsburg passed an ordinance introducing a new fee to certain water customers outside the town limits. The fee, pursuant to I.C. § 8-1-2-103(d), helped fund the town’s fire hydrants and had been imposed on all Brownsburg residents since 2010. Shortly after the ordinance’s enactment, Sabrina Graham and Kurt Disser (“Graham/Disser”), who live outside the…

Unreasonable Relocation Ordinance: Respect Utility Property Rights – “Duke Energy Indiana, LLC v. Town of Avon, Indiana”

Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP | Mar 7, 2019 | Municipal Law

In 2015, the town of Avon passed an ordinance which allowed the town to force a utility to relocate facilities on public streets or public rights-of-way at the utilities expense due to municipal projects. Duke Energy subsequently filed a complaint with the IURC, alleging Avon’s ordinance violated Indiana law. Initially, the IURC dismissed the complaint because Avon had already initiated…

Allco Renewable Energy, Ltd. v. Mass. Elec. Co.

Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP | Jan 8, 2018 | Municipal Law, Utility Law

The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion finding that the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (“PURPA”) does not authorize lawsuits between cogeneration facilities and electric utilities because there is no express or implied private right of action in the statutory language. Allco Renewable Energy, Ltd. V. Mass. Elec. Co., 875 F.3d 64 (1st Cir. 2017). PURPA was…

Discretionary Function Immunity

Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP | Apr 26, 2017 | Construction Law, Municipal Law

The Indiana Supreme Court ruled evidence of more than financing alone must be presented to demonstrate that the City has engaged in a policy-oriented decision making process in order for discretionary function immunity to apply. Cathy Beloat sued the City of Beech Grove after breaking her leg by stepping in hole in Main Street in the City. The City of…

Indiana Stormwater Act: Municipalities May Assess Fee on Property Owners Even When Property Does Not Cause Runoff

Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP | Mar 15, 2017 | Municipal Law, Utility Law

On February 15, 2017, the Indiana Court of Appeals issued a published opinion affirming a municipality’s ability to charge a Stormwater Fee to all property owners within the boundaries of the city. Mint Management, LLC v. City of Richmond (No. 89a01-1603-PL-496, decided February 15, 2017). The Court of Appeals found the definition of “user” under the statute included all property…

Court Rules in Dispute between Duke Energy and Municipality

Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP | Mar 14, 2017 | Municipal Law

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently issued a decision in a dispute between a public utility and a local municipality that may be of interest to electric utilities. Duke Energy Indiana filed a lawsuit against the City of Franklin after the city announced plans to improve the intersection of two streets near State Road 44. Duke alleged that the expanded…

Indiana Municipal Law: Town of Cedar Lake v. Alessia, 985 N.E.2d 55 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013)

Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP | Jun 6, 2013 | Municipal Law

The Indiana Court of Appeals reversed and remanded a trial courts grant of summary judgment for the Parks and Recreation Board Members who alleged that the Town of Cedar Lake had improperly removed their positions by dissolving the Parks and Recreation Department. In Town of Cedar Lake v. Alessia, 985 N.E.2d 55 (Ind. Ct. App. 2013), the Town of Cedar…

Indiana Municipal Law Cities Permitted to Require Permits for Removal of Water Beneath Property Owner’s Land By: Jeremy L. Fetty

Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP | Mar 15, 2012 | Municipal Law

The Indiana Supreme Court recently handed down a decision regarding an ordinance requiring property owners to obtain city issued permits prior to the removal and sale of underground water from aquifers (an underground bed or layer of permeable rock, sediment, or soil that yields water) by third-parties. In Town of Avon, both Washington Township (Township) and the West Central Conservancy…

City Negligence for Property Damage from Sewer Defects UnlikelyBy: Jeremy L. Fetty

Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP | Jan 31, 2012 | Municipal Law

The Indiana Court of Appeals recently handed down two decisions regarding the liability of a city or municipality for damage caused to real and personal property as the result of a sewer defect. The cases examine when a city or municipality may be held liable for sewer malfunctions that cause property damage. In Ka v. City of Indianapolis, 952 N.E.…

Indiana Municipal Law – Clarification on the Requirements of a Public Lawsuit By: Jeremy L. Fetty

Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP | Dec 6, 2011 | Municipal Law

The Indiana Court of Appeals clarified the requirements necessary for a lawsuit to be considered a public lawsuit in Buse v. Trustees of the Luce Township Regional Sewer District, 953 N.E.2d 519 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011). In this case, a group of property owners filed suit against the Spencer County Sewer District to block it from laying a sewer line…

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