Overview
Law360 quoted Dan Mullen and Monique Watson in a July 2 article titled "The Biggest Energy Rulings Of 2020: Midyear Report."
Mullen commented on a February decision in which the Fourth Circuit gave a thumbs up to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) abilities to crack down on market manipulation. In its decision, a three-judge panel said the agency hadn't waited too long to pursue approximately $35 million in penalties and disgorgement against a Pennsylvania-based hedge fund over alleged electricity market manipulation.
Mullen, a former FERC investigations chief, says: "The federal statute of limitations is five years from the occurrence of the violative conduct, but the upshot of the Fourth Circuit's ruling is that it, in practice, can be much longer than that. Potential defendants can expect to see a longer timeline than they might have otherwise expected based on the five-year statute of limitations."
Watson commented on a June 30 decision from the DC Circuit that took a sledgehammer to FERC's long-standing policy of administratively denying appeals of its approval of pipelines and other gas projects. Under the Natural Gas Act, FERC is required to act on rehearing requests within 30 days, or else the requests are deemed to have been denied and can be challenged in court. But according to the DC Circuit, FERC's policy of tolling that deadline to give itself more time as a matter of course allows the agency to stall judicial reviews and let developers move forward with seizing land and building projects.
Watson, a former FERC pipeline official, says: "If the [DC Circuit] said you can go to court while rehearing is pending, what will happen? Will the commission then file a motion with the court saying, 'It's really not done, hold off, because we still have something to say about this?'"
The full article can be read at Law360 (subscription required).
