Steptoe's Appellate Victory for Southern California Edison

On March 29, 2007, Steptoe won an unusual appellate victory for its longtime client, Southern California Edison (SCE). In a dispute over the allocation of costs with several California cities, SCE lost its case before FERC. SCE then retained Steptoe to handle the appeal to the DC Circuit. Weeks after Steptoe filed its opening brief, FERC—without filing a reply—asked the Court for a voluntary remand, so that it could rethink its position. The case was remanded, but there was no additional briefing before the agency. A year later, FERC reached the opposite conclusion, issuing a decision in favor of SCE.

In short, Steptoe caused a complete reversal of the Commission's position with a single appellate brief.