The Government of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority filed motions Wednesday before the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico related to ongoing litigation seeking to invalidate the extension of LUMA Energy’s supplemental contract, according to information published by Metro Puerto Rico.
The filings come as controversy continues over which court should hear the case after U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered the lawsuits returned to the Puerto Rico Court of First Instance.
The legal actions filed by the government, the Public-Private Partnerships Authority and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority allege that the contractual extension approved in 2022 failed to comply with provisions of Law 29 and Law 120, which govern public-private partnerships and the transformation of Puerto Rico’s electric system.
According to the lawsuits, the supplemental agreement extension was approved without meeting several regulatory and legislative requirements. The plaintiffs are requesting that the contract be declared null and void and that an operational transition process be ordered.
In the motions filed before the Supreme Court, the government and the P3 Authority are seeking rulings related to jurisdictional matters and expedited handling of the case.
Last week, Swain concluded that the lawsuits stem from the Puerto Rico government’s exercise of its regulatory authority and ruled that the cases should proceed in the Commonwealth court system.
However, LUMA later filed an appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston and requested a stay on transferring the cases back to the Puerto Rico courts while the appellate process is underway.
