Duke Energy Indiana LLC v. City of Noblesville Indiana

Summary

The court held that Noblesville’s ordinance was not automatically preempted and that the trial court had jurisdiction to hear the city’s enforcement action. But because Duke’s projects involved utility service broadly understood, only the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission could decide whether enforcing the ordinance unreasonably interfered with Duke’s utility functions. The court reversed and remanded for the trial court to refer that reasonableness issue to the commission before deciding the enforcement claim.