Montana Code 69-8-215. Ratepayer and shareholder protection
69-8-215. Ratepayer and shareholder protection. (1) Rates established pursuant to Title 69, chapter 3, part 3, may not allow for the recovery of any portion of a civil judgment in a lawsuit arising out of litigation brought by the shareholders of a predecessor in interest against:
Terms Used In Montana Code 69-8-215
- commission: means the public service commission provided for in 2-15-2602. See Montana Code 69-1-101
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
- Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- Public utility: has the meaning of a public utility regulated by the commission pursuant to Title 69, chapter 3, on May 2, 1997, including the public utility's successors or assignees. See Montana Code 69-8-103
- Utility: means any public utility or cooperative utility. See Montana Code 69-8-103
(a)the predecessor in interest;
(b)the officers or directors of the predecessor in interest;
(c)the legal advisers or consultants to the predecessor in interest; or
(d)any successor of the predecessor in interest, including a successor in interest.
(2)(a) Subject to subsection (3), an entity subject to regulation under Title 69, including the entity’s subsidiaries and affiliates, may not be made a party to litigation brought by the shareholders of a predecessor in interest against:
(i)the predecessor in interest;
(ii)the officers or directors of the predecessor in interest;
(iii)the legal advisers or consultants to the predecessor in interest; or
(iv)any successor of the predecessor in interest that is not a successor in interest.
(b)Except as provided in subsection (3), an entity subject to regulation under Title 69 may not be held liable for a civil judgment entered against:
(i)a predecessor in interest;
(ii)the officers or directors of a predecessor in interest;
(iii)the legal advisers or consultants to a predecessor in interest; or
(iv)any successor of a predecessor in interest that is not a successor in interest.
(3)Subsection (2) does not apply:
(a)to a successor of a public utility regulated by the public service commission pursuant to Title 69, chapter 3, on May 2, 1997, whose shareholders received stock as a result of the sale of a public utility; or
(b)if the liabilities resulting from, related to, or arising out of a reorganization, restructuring, or plan of merger were explicitly assumed by written contract to be the liabilities of the successor to the predecessor in interest.
(4)For the purposes of this section:
(a)”predecessor in interest” means a public utility regulated by the commission pursuant to Title 69, chapter 3, on May 2, 1997, in which an interest was purchased through an arm’s-length transaction in which the market value of the public utility property purchased was paid for in cash, debt assumption, or a combination of cash and debt assumption; and
(b)”successor in interest” means the purchaser of all or a portion of a public utility regulated by the commission pursuant to Title 69, chapter 3, on May 2, 1997, through an arm’s-length transaction in which the market value of the public utility property purchased was paid for in cash, debt assumption, or a combination of cash and debt assumption.