Friedman v. Public Utilities Commission, 48 A.3d 794

CMP approved an AMI project in 2010; complaints followed about health, safety, privacy and opt-out concerns.
Friedman and others filed complaints in July 2011 against CMP and the Commission under 35-A M.R.S. § 1302.
The Commission consolidated complaints into an Opt-Out Investigation and issued two Opt-Out Orders (May and June 2011) addressing opt-out options and related directives.
The Commission dismissed Friedman’s complaint in August 2011, ruling issues were resolved in the Opt-Out Investigation and that there is no statutory basis to sue the Commission.
Friedman appealed the dismissal, arguing health/safety issues were not resolved and the Commission misapplied § 1302.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court vacated the health/safety portion of the dismissal, affirmed the rest, and remanded for further proceedings consistent with its opinion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Commission properly dismissed health/safety claims against CMP.	Friedman argues health/safety concerns were not resolved by Opt-Out Orders.	Commission contends health/safety issues were resolved in Opt-Out Investigation.	Vacate health/safety dismissal; issues unresolved by Opt-Out Orders.
Whether privacy, trespass, and Fourth Amendment issues against CMP were properly dismissed.	Friedman asserts ongoing privacy/trespass concerns.	Commission previously resolved these issues; CMP implementation cured the concerns.	Affirm dismissal of privacy/trespass/Fourth Amendment claims against CMP.
Whether constitutional claims against the Commission are proper under § 1302.	Constitutional rights violations can be pursued via § 1302.	§ 1302 covers only complaints against utilities, not the Commission.	Constitutional claims against the Commission are properly dismissed.

Dunn v. Pub. Utils. Comm’n, 890 A.2d 269 (Me. 2006) (abuse of discretion standard for agency dismissal decisions)