Vermont Department of Public Service v. Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co.
Vermont Supreme Court
558 A.2d 215 (1988)

- Written by Darius Dehghan, JD
Facts
Four Vermont municipalities (the municipalities) (defendants) entered into contracts with the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC) (defendant). These contracts were known as power-sales agreements (PSAs). In exchange for monthly payments to the MMWEC, the municipalities acquired shares in an MMWEC project. Under the PSAs, the MMWEC had the sole power to fix the amount of the municipalities’ monthly payments. The Vermont Department of Public Service (the department) (plaintiff) brought suit, contending that the PSAs constituted an impermissible delegation of the municipalities’ spending power to the MMWEC. The superior court granted summary judgment for the municipalities. The department appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Allen, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.