United States Ninth Circuit

Federal removal jurisdiction lies over California state courts where several power companies allegedly fraudulently failed to deliver reserve power which might have helped to avert California-s energy crisis of 2000-2001.

Appellate Information

• Argued 08/12/2003
• Decided 07/06/2004
• Published 07/06/2004

Judges

• O'SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judge:, Before: CYNTHIA HOLCOMB HALL, DIARMUID F. O'SCANNLAIN, and EDWARD LEAVY, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Tamar Pachter, Deputy Attorney General, State of California, San Francisco, CA, argued the case for the appellant and was on the briefs.   Attorney General Bill Lockyer, and Thomas Greene, Damon Connolly, Danette Valdez, Pamela Merchant, Paul Stein, and Laura Zuckerman, Office of the Attorney General, were also on the briefs., Attorney General Christine O. Gregoire, Seattle, WA, and Tina E. Kondo and W. Stuart Hirschfeld, Office of the Attorney General;  and Attorney General Hardy Myers, Salem, OR, and Robert T. Roth and Colin A. Yost, Office of the Attorney General;  were on the brief of amici curiae State of Washington and State of Oregon in support of plaintiff.


• For Appellees:
  
• Terry J. Houlihan, Bingham McCutchen LLP, San Francisco, CA, argued the case for the appellees and was on the joint briefs of the appellees, as attorney for appellees Reliant Energy, Inc.;   Reliant Energy Services, Inc.;   Reliant Energy Power Generation, Inc.;  Reliant Resources, Inc.;   Reliant Energy Coolwater, Inc.;  Reliant Energy Ellwood, Inc.;   Reliant Energy Etiwanda, Inc.;   Reliant Energy Mandalay, Inc.;   and Reliant Energy Ormond Beach, Inc. Nora Cregan and Thomas S. Hixson were also on the joint briefs as attorneys for the same parties., John M. Grenfell, Douglas R. Tribble, and Michael J. Kass, Pillsbury Winthrop LLP, San Francisco, CA, were on the joint briefs of the appellees, as attorneys for appellees Dynegy, Inc.;  Dynegy Power Marketing, Inc.;  West Coast Power, LLC;  Cabrillo Power I, LLC;  Cabrillo Power II, LLC;  El Segundo Power, LLC;  and Long Beach Generation, LLC., John A. Sturgeon and Bryan A. Merryman, White & Case LLP, Los Angeles, CA, were on the joint briefs of the appellees, as attorneys for appellees Mirant Corporation;  Mirant California, LLC;  Mirant Delta, LLC;  Mirant Potrero, LLC;  Mirant AmericasEnergy Marketing, LP;  Mirant California Investments, Inc.;   Mirant Americas, Inc.;   and Southern Energy Gold States Holdings, Inc., David T. Peterson and Theodore G. Spanos, Morgan, Lewis & Brockius LLP, Los Angeles, CA, were on the joint briefs of the appellees, as attorneys for appellee Xcel Energy, Inc., Carlton A. Varner and Timothy B. Taylor, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, Los Angeles, CA, were on the joint briefs of the appellees, as attorneys for appellee NRG Energy, Inc.