Judge Refuses to Certify Class Action
For Immediate Release
Contact: Renee Whitener, Director of Public Relations, Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation, (828) 758-2383 ext. 3213; Pager:1-800-471-1323; or E-mail: Renee Whitener
West Jefferson, North Carolina (October 3, 2005) – Judge John R. Jolly, Jr. has refused to certify a class action lawsuit filed by a few Ashe County property owners against Blue Ridge Electric Membership Corporation.
The property owners sued Blue Ridge Electric in connection with several transmission line projects designed to improve power reliability for residents of Ashe, Alleghany and Watauga counties.
Blue Ridge Electric is a member-owned cooperative established in 1936 to provide at-cost electricity to its 68,000 residential and business members in Caldwell, Watauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes, Alexander and Avery counties.
The order denying class certification came after more than a year of extensive discovery and briefing and oral argument from both sides at a May 25, 2005 hearing.
Judge Jolly refused to let the case proceed as a class action because many liability and damages issues were not common to all of the property owners in Ashe and Watauga counties who were affected by the transmission line projects. In addition, the Judge found that the plaintiffs’ claims were not representative or “typical.
Blue Ridge Electric is represented in the lawsuit by the law firm of Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice, LLC.
Most of the electric system that provides power to Blue Ridge Electric’s members was constructed in the late 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Over the years, power demands have steadily increased as the population of the area has grown and business have moved to the region. Technological advances and new uses for electronic equipment and appliances have also contributed to rising energy demands. When existing lines are no longer able to meet anticipated demands, Blue Ridge Electric must modernize transmission lines and electrical substations.
Since each part of Blue Ridge Electric’s transmission system works together, the cooperative’s ability to ensure the reliable delivery of power depends upon the cooperation of each property owner. Blue Ridge Electric has a high regard for the property rights of its members. The cooperative is committed to working closely with each member with regard to projects affecting that member’s property, as well as to restoring each member’s property to its original condition once work is completed.
Blue Ridge Electric is a member-owned electric cooperative with headquarters in Lenoir, North Carolina, and local district offices in Lenoir, Watauga, Ashe and Alleghany counties.
