Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

“Not About The Money” files: $175 million suit against BGE

One of our favorite clichés is repeated in a tale of a lawsuit over a tragic electrocution. Because it’s BGE’s fault Gary Dart’s trailer caught on fire, because, after all, powerlines never go down during a snowstorm without negligence. Good thing it’s not about the money, or they might have asked for a lot more […]

One of our favorite clichés is repeated in a tale of a lawsuit over a tragic electrocution. Because it’s BGE’s fault Gary Dart’s trailer caught on fire, because, after all, powerlines never go down during a snowstorm without negligence. Good thing it’s not about the money, or they might have asked for a lot more than $175 million. The attorney is Dave Ellin. (Joseph M. Giordano, “BGE Is Sued Over Electrocution”, Dundalk Eagle, Mar. 27). Because BGE is a regulated utility (whose maintenance budget is set in negotiations with the governmental public utility commission), the expenses of the lawsuit, including any damages, will eventually be passed on to local ratepayers. (Update: or not. See comments.)

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7 Comments

  • As soon as an attorney asserts “It’s not about the money,” the money should be removed from the case.

  • I wanted to bring to your attention a couple of errors in your account of the BGE lawsuit. I have practiced public utility law for almost 30 years and I have appeared before state regulatory commissions in more than 30 states so I can say with some certainty that: 1) a regulated utility’s maintenance budget is not set by state regulators and 2) the cost of damage awards is almost never passed through to customers in rates. The explanation of both these points is too lengthy to recite here, but I can assure you that they are correct.

    That said, keep up the good work. Overlawyered is one of my favorite (and oftentimes most depressing) websites.

  • Once upon a time in an earlier century before my days in law school, I was designing spreadsheets and helping put together regulatory filings for an electric company, and I could swear to the best of my recollection that the maintenance budget was a line item to be approved by regulators, but I defer to the unquestionably greater expertise of Mr. Mitten on the subject.

    • By Ted

  • If money for the settlement don’t come from the customers then where does it come from?

    • By Fred

  • Whether or not the maintenance budget is directly approved by the regulators, regulated rates tightly constrain the possible range of maintenance budgets.

    • By markm

  • BGE’s regulated rates end on July 31st. The power market in Maryland was deregulated in 1999, but the rates were capped by the legislature until this year.

    • By IT Guy

  • Any plaintiff who claims “it’s not about the money” should be required to donate the money to charity.

    For that matter, I’ve always wondered why do plaintiffs get to keep the punitive award? They don’t deserve it, that’s what the damage award is for.