Overview
(September 15, 2020, Washington, DC) — Lawyers from Steptoe's Energy and Appellate practices worked together to obtain a significant victory for Eversource Energy in the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
On September 9, the court affirmed the dismissal of state and federal antitrust and consumer protection claims against Eversource relating to allegations that it manipulated New England's energy markets. Following its prior decision in a similar consumer antitrust class action (where Steptoe also represented Eversource), the First Circuit concluded that the "filed rate doctrine" precluded federal antitrust claims and related state law claims because the alleged manipulative conduct was explicitly permitted by FERC in tariffs approved under its exclusive authority over rates and practices in interstate gas markets.
The team representing Eversource in this matter is led by Steptoe partners Doug Green and Shannen Coffin, with associate Mark Savignac, and co-counsel from Ropes & Gray.
Read more on the appellate victory in Law360 (subscription required)
About Steptoe
In more than 100 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
