2009 News
CWPB Facilitates Acquisition of Wind Energy Facility
On behalf of Emerging Energies of Wisconsin, LLC, CWPB successfully completed the sale of a controlling interest in the Shirley Wind Project in the Town of Glenmore, near Green Bay. The project will feature eight state-of-the-art 2.5-megawatt Nordex N100 turbines and produce 64 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, supplying enough energy for approximately 8,000 homes.
Attorneys Lee Cullen, Carol Grob, Curt Pawlisch, and Jeff Vercauteren have represented Emerging Energies since 2006 in the development of the project. CWPB facilitated the acquisition and $50 million investment by a subsidiary of CH Energy Group, Inc. CWPB also negotiated a twenty-year power purchase agreement with Wisconsin Public Service Corporation. The project will use local contractors and provide the State of Wisconsin with approximately two-thirds of the required energy to meet its Renewable Portfolio Standard requirements for state-owned facilities. December 2009.
CWPB 2, Dirty Coal 0
Attorneys Kira Loehr and Lester Pines continue to rack up victories in environmental litigation. Earlier this month, Kentucky's Energy Secretary issued a Final Order prohibiting Kentucky Mountain Power from building a coal plant on its property in Knott County, Kentucky, without obtaining a new permit under current environmental laws. The Secretary found that a prior permit, issued when the environmental laws were less stringent, had expired. Attorney Loehr represented the Sierra Club in that case, which opposed the building of the plant.
In another case handled for the Sierra Club, Attorneys Loehr and Pines secured an award of $475,000 against EnviroPower and Khanjee Holding, after the United States Supreme Court declined an appeal of a lower court's finding that the two companies violated the Clean Air Act by proposing to construct a power plant in Benton, Illinois without the required permit. The award includes a $100,000 fine, to be paid to two Habitat for Humanity programs in the Benton area. The balance of the award is attorney's fees and costs associated with winning the case. December 2009.
Bach Again Honored as Top of the Top
The annual listing of Wisconsin Super Lawyers and Rising Stars is out, and Steve Bach, who practices Family Law, was again honored among the top 50 Wisconsin Super Lawyers, all practices. Nearly half of CWPB attorneys join him on this year's lists, published by Milwaukee Magazine. Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are chosen for inclusion in the Super Lawyers list, and only 2.5% are chosen for the Rising Stars list. CWPB attorneys honored in the 2009 Super Lawyers list, and the practice areas in which they are honored, are: Attorney Lee Cullen (Energy and Natural Resources), Attorney Lester Pines (General Litigation), Attorney Steve Bach (Family Law), and Attorney Jordan Loeb (Criminal Defense). Attorney Kira Loehr (Environmental Law) was also honored as a Rising Star. November 2009.
Pines Receives NAACP Award
On October 2, at its annual Freedom Fund Banquet, Lester Pines received the Harry & Velma Hamilton Branch Service Award from the NAACP, Madison Branch for his "steadfast and exemplary volunteer efforts serving the Greater Madison Community." October 2009.
7 of 13 are Best Lawyers
Alison TenBruggencate (Family Law including Collaborative Family Law), Linda Harfst (Labor & Employment law), and Elise Clancy Ruoho (Family Law) have been selected for first-time inclusion in the 2010 edition of Best Lawyers in America. They join four CWPB partners who have been included in this publication in past years, and are again listed in 2010: Lee Cullen (Communications and Energy law), Lester Pines (Criminal Defense and Labor & Employment law), Steve Bach (Family Law including Collaborative Family Law) and Curt Pawlisch (Government Relations). September 2009.
CWPB Protects Local Phone Company
The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin today denied the complaint of AT&T against Northern Telephone & Data regarding its charges to AT&T to connect calls to local phone customers. NTD is a small, Wisconsin phone company. Attorneys Curt Pawlisch and Jeff Vercauteren successfully argued on behalf of NTD that AT&T's complaint lacked merit.
If granted, the complaint would have had an anti-competitive effect. AT&T would have succeeded in reducing the revenues of one of its competitors, NTD, making it more difficult for NTD to serve its customers as well as to invest and keep jobs in the community. At the same time, NTD would still have had to pay AT&T substantial sums of money just to lease parts of AT&T's network to provide service to its customers. September 2009.
Siting Standards Achieved
The state legislature this month gave final approval to a major reform in Wisconsin's wind siting laws. Attorney and lobbyist Curt Pawlisch led a coalition called Wind for Wisconsin to pass the measure. The coalition included leading business, labor, farm, environmental and wind energy interests. Passage in the Senate was 23 to 9; in the Assembly, 65 to 31. Governor Doyle is expected to sign the measure into law. September 2009.
Wind Getting Stronger
Mobilizing the common interests of nearly 60 organizations under the "Wind for Wisconsin" umbrella, Attorney Curt Pawlisch successfully lobbied the Assembly Committee on Energy & Utilities to endorse uniform siting standards for wind farms, to be applied by local governments. The wind siting reform bill will enable Wisconsin to take full advantage of wind energy as a sustainable economic resource. The bill has both Democrats and Republicans as co-sponsors in both houses of the legislature, and emerged from Committee on a bipartisan 10-2 vote. June 2009.
Worker Rights Class Action Lawsuit
Attorney Tamara Packard has filed a class action lawsuit against an area company for forcing its employees to take certain breaks without pay, in violation of Wisconsin wage and hours laws. Under Wisconsin law, breaks of fewer than 30 minutes are legally considered "work time," and employers must pay their employees for those breaks. The lawsuit alleges that Royle Printing Co. of Sun Prairie has required its hourly employees to punch out for their 20-minute breaks if they wish to leave company premises for any part of that break. Packard aims to recover wages and other remedies owed to the hourly employees who were not paid for such breaks during the past two years. June 2009.
Water Conservation Initiative
Partner Curt Pawlisch, Senior Associate Kira Loehr, and Associate Jeff Vercauteren are coordinating with environmental organization Clean Wisconsin on a major water conservation initiative. CWPB will be intervening on behalf of Clean Wisconsin in major municipal utility rate cases before the Public Service Commission to advocate for water conservation rates and other water conservation measures.
In 2006 Governor Doyle launched a "Conserve Wisconsin" agenda that, in part, called on the PSC and Department of Natural Resources to work together to develop a statewide water conservation strategy focusing on demand-side water conservation initiatives.
Most water utilities have traditional block rates in which the price per gallon decreases with increased usage. Contrarily, conservation rates have an inverted block structure in which the price per gallon increases with usage, providing an incentive for customers to reduce consumption. CWPB filed its first intervention request on behalf of Clean Wisconsin last month, in the Waukesha Water Utility rate case. That intervention resulted in a stipulation that establishes stronger conservation rates and provides for continued collaboration between Waukesha, Clean Wisconsin, and PSC staff over the next three years on conservation rates and other conservation programs. May 2009.
Privacy in the Workplace
Attorney Tamara B. Packard presented the employee rights perspective in a talk titled "E-Mail, Internet and Privacy Issues in the Electronic Workplace" at the 2009 Wisconsin Public Sector Labor Relations Conference. Her co-presenter, offering the management rights perspective on the issue, was Milwaukee Attorney Bradden C. Backer. The Conference is an annual conference co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, the State Bar of Wisconsin Labor & Employment Section, and the University of Wisconsin Law School. April 2009.
Mortgage Fraud Indictments Anticipated
During the week of March 4, Lester Pines attended the annual ABA White Collar Crime Conference. Among the topics addressed at the conference was the expected increase in federal criminal prosecutions for mortgage fraud. Specifically, federal regulators in conjunction with United States Attorneys Offices are reviewing false loan applications, fraudulent appraisals and misrepresentations in securities disclosures to the secondary market.
March 2009.
CWPB Encourages Action on Green Energy Opportunities
Attorneys Lee Cullen, Curt Pawlisch, and Jeff Vercauteren have prepared a comprehensive overview of renewable energy and energy efficiency opportunities made available to organizations in the Federal Stimulus Package. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 signed into law by President Obama on February 17 provides substantial opportunities for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. CWPB's experienced energy law attorneys have explored these provisions in detail and summarized the opportunities available to businesses, municipalities, school districts, institutions of higher education and community-based energy projects in this memorandum. Many of these opportunities are available on a first come, first served basis. CWPB is prepared to provide exceptional advice and counsel to those wishing to take advantage of these important and substantial opportunities.
February 2009.
CWPB Accepts Another Challenge
Cullen Weston Pines & Bach has enrolled in the American Bar Associations Law Office Climate Challenge. The ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources (SEER) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designed the program to encourage law offices to take simple, practical steps to become better environmental and energy stewards.
To accept the Climate Challenge, the law firm pledged to use 100% renewable energy for its operations and to adopt paper policies that reduce overall carbon emissions, such as using paper with 35% recycled content and assuring that all new printers purchased can do 2-sided copies.
Accepting the Climate Challenge is a natural fit for a law firm that is one of the leading voices on environmental, energy and utility issues in the state of Wisconsin. Partners Lee Cullen and Curt Pawlisch together have over 60 years of experience in government relations and legal representation on energy and utility issues, and Associate Kira Loehr leads our successful environmental law practice.
According to the ABA, the Law Office Climate Challenge gives the legal profession the opportunity to be a leader in the national environmental sustainability movement. Participating law firms set an example of environmental stewardship through participation in the Climate Challenge.
For more information about the ABAs Climate Challenge, please visit http://www.abanet.org/environ/climatechallenge/home.shtml
February 2009.
Wages and Hours Victory
A Federal Court ruled that Tamara Packard's client should have been paid for work he did before and after his regular shift. Tamara's client, a painter, was not paid for driving the company van between the company shop and job sites, among other activities. Federal Judge Barbara Crabb ruled he should have been paid. A jury will decide in March how much the employer owes the painter in back wages and liquidated damages.
February 2009.
