Landowners settle claims for $6.5M against electric cooperative

Listen to this article

A Callaway County judge has approved a $6.5 million settlement to resolve claims that a Jefferson City electric cooperative and its subsidiary unlawfully used electric transmission-line rights of way for commercial telecommunications purposes.

Judge Jodie C. Asel approved the settlement March 3, bringing to an end Roger and Jane Harmon’s suit against Central Electric Power Cooperative and its telecommunications company FiberPath Technologies LLC.

The Harmons are a husband and wife from Fulton who in 2017 brought claims of trespass and inverse condemnation against Central Electric and FiberPath in Callaway County Circuit Court. They represented a class of more than 1,100 landowners throughout mid-Missouri. They brought claims of trespass and inverse condemnation against Central Electric and FiberPath, alleging Central Electric installed fiber-optic cable on their property for commercial use without their permission.

The Harmons alleged they and other property owners had allowed Central Electric to conduct only activities directly related to its electric transmission business on their property. They also claimed that they retained the rights to exclude Central Electric and others from commercial use of their land for telecommunications purposes.

Asel approved $2.1 million in attorneys’ fees for class counsel and $8,000 in class representative awards for the Harmons jointly.

Heidi Doerhoff Vollet of Cook, Vetter, Doerhoff & Landwehr in Jefferson City was lead counsel for the class.

“We are pleased to have reached a fair settlement after a hard-fought win on class certification,” she said in a statement. “The resolution is a victory for property rights because it allows more than 1,000 mostly rural Missouri landowners to receive significant monetary compensation through a streamlined claims process under which no settlement funds revert to the defendants.”

Vollet was joined by Ron Waicukauski of Price Waicukauski Joven & Catlin in Indianapolis. The two previously worked on a similar case against Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative, which in 2018 resulted in a $24.7 million settlement for landowners.

John L. Roark of Smith Lewis in Columbia represented Central Electric. He did not respond to a message seeking comment.

RELATED: Click to search for and submit your Verdicts & Settlements