LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A district judge has dismissed the claims against Lubbock Power and Light and referred the remaining portions of a Lubbock tenant\u2019s utility shutoff lawsuit to the Texas Public Utility Commission.<\/p>\n
Judge J. Phillip Hays of the 99th District Court issued the ruling in Cause No. DC-2026-CV-1453, Maria Jesus Tucker v. Thunder Sun, Inc. and Thunder Pro, LLC, et al., following a hearing Tuesday in which attorneys for LP&L and Ambit Energy Texas asked the court to throw out parts of the case.<\/p>\n
What the judge ruled<\/p>\n
Hays granted LP&L\u2019s plea to the jurisdiction, dismissing Tucker\u2019s claims against LP&L, its officers and managers, members of the Lubbock City Council, and members of the Electric Utility Board.<\/p>\n
On the claims against Ambit, Hays denied the company\u2019s plea to the jurisdiction but granted its plea in abatement, referring the matter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas for consideration. All other causes of action against any defendant in the case are abated pending the PUC\u2019s resolution.<\/p>\n
Background on the case<\/p>\n
Tucker filed suit after her electricity was shut off in January \u2014 just before severe winter weather \u2014 because her landlord did not pay the bill. She named the Lubbock mayor and city council, LP&L, Ambit, and others as defendants, arguing tenants need more notice and a real chance to keep service on.<\/p>\n
According to court filings, LP&L said Ambit \u2014 the retail electric provider on the account \u2014 requested the disconnect for nonpayment. Tucker said she offered to pay the bill directly to Ambit but could not because her landlord was the customer of record. LP&L\u2019s attorney told the court the property was not individually metered, meaning payment would have covered electricity used by other tenants as well.<\/p>\n
Tucker worked with attorneys at Legal Aid of Northwest Texas to ask Hays to order power restored before temperatures dropped. The judge ordered the electricity turned back on under the dangerous conditions.<\/p>\n
Arguments made before the ruling<\/p>\n
LP&L said in a statement that it sympathizes with Tucker\u2019s claims against her former landlord, Thunder Sun, but called the constitutional claims against LP&L and its employees frivolous.<\/p>\n
\u201cLP&L sympathizes with Plaintiff\u2019s claims against Defendant Thunder Sun, her former landlord who she alleges failed its duty to pay utility bills and ensure Ms. Tucker had access to electricity,\u201d the statement said. \u201cHowever, LP&L believes her claims against LP&L, its employees, and Electric Utility Board members are frivolous and contradict clear state and Federal law. All of Ms. Tucker\u2019s allegations of constitutional violations assume that LP&L generates and provides power directly to customers and is able to control billing or payment-related shutoffs. It does not. Following the transition into the retail electric market and ERCOT, LP&L is bound by specific statutes and regulations that guide all interactions relating to electric service. Plaintiff\u2019s complaints about regulatory notice requirements fall under the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission of Texas. As baseless claims will ultimately be borne by our ratepayers, we intend to vigorously defend these allegations on their behalf. We look forward to the Court\u2019s ruling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tucker\u2019s attorney, Benjamin Gerzik with Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, had argued the case was a constitutional civil-rights matter that belonged before a judge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s asking the question of whether an innocent tenant, when they are willing to pay their bills and avoid utility disconnection as is their right under the statute and the constitution \u2014 it\u2019s asking whether a purely constitutional [question] goes to court or the Public Utility Commission, which isn\u2019t allowed to ask constitutional questions,\u201d Gerzik said.<\/p>\n
Gerzik also said he wants other tenants in similar situations to know their options.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want them to know they have rights not just under the property code, but under the constitution \u2014 and if a landlord, the government, or a private utility chooses to not respect those rights, they better be ready to fight like hell,\u201d Gerzik said.<\/p>\n
Ambit\u2019s attorney declined to comment before the ruling.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s next<\/p>\n
Tucker\u2019s attorney said they are meeting with their team and with Tucker to decide on next steps.<\/p>\n