Town of Cavendish v. Vermont Public Power Supply Authority

Summary

The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed the Public Service Board's dismissal of the Town of Cavendish's petition for declaratory relief against the Vermont Public Power Supply Authority. The Town's challenge to the Authority's $6,000,000 loan was moot because the Court's earlier decision in In re Vermont Public Power Supply Authority entitled the Town to intervene as of right in separate proceedings testing the loan's validity, dissipating the live controversy. On the remaining claims — the contract for forty per cent ownership in the Black River Hydro Electric Project and the grant of member status to Springfield — the Court held that the petition alleged no injury in fact traceable to either transaction, so the Town lacked standing; illegality alone does not confer standing. The Court did not reach the Board's alternative grounds for dismissal.