United States DC Circuit

In an electric utility's petition for review of the Surface Transportation Board's denial of a portion of petitioner's petition requesting a recomputation of petitioner's cost of equity capital for the years 1998-2005, the petition is granted in part where the Board's particularly cursory analysis of the 2005 cost of equity estimates constituted arbitrary and capricious decisionmaking. However, the petition is denied in part where the fact that the Board did not agree that the changed circumstances warranted changing prior years' calculations did not by itself mean the Board acted arbitrarily or capriciously or failed to consider seriously petitioner's evidence.

Appellate Information

• Argued 03/19/2010
• Decided 06/18/2010
• Published 06/18/2010

Judges

• Before SENTELLE, Chief Judge, HENDERSON and BROWN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States DC Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• William L. Slover argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs were Kelvin J. Dowd, Robert D. Rosenberg, and Andrew B. Kolesar III.


• For Appellees:
  
• James A. Read, Attorney, Surface Transportation Board, argued the cause for respondents. With him on the brief were Robert B. Nicholson and John P. Fonte, Attorneys, U.S. Department of Justice, Ellen D. Hanson, General Counsel, Surface Transportation Board, Craig M. Keats, Deputy General Counsel, and Thomas J. Stilling, Attorney., Samuel M. Sipe Jr., Anthony J. LaRocca, and Richard E. Weicher were on the brief for intervenor BNSF Railway Company in support of respondent. Kathryn J. Gainey entered an appearance.