Geysers Development Partnership v. Geysers Power Company
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
2018 WL 3730129 (2018)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Geysers Development Partnership (GDP) (plaintiff) owned a geothermal-energy field in California. Geysers Power Company, LLC (Geysers Power) (defendant) held a 99-year lease on the property, enabling it the exclusive right to generate steam from the property to produce energy. GDP granted easements to various power entities, including one to Occidental Geothermal, Inc., a Geyser Power competitor. Western GeoPower, Inc. (WGP) sought its own easement over the GDP property. WGP planned to extract steam from a neighboring property and transmit the energy it produced over power lines it wished to build on the GDP property. Geysers Power objected to the easement, believing the easement would decrease the steam Geysers Power was able to extract from the GDP property and decrease its profits due to resulting decreased electricity prices. GDP filed for a declaratory judgment, seeking to clarify which entity—GDP or Geysers Power—had the authority under the lease to grant easements on the GDP property. Both parties filed for summary judgment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Orrick, J.)
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