Law360 featured Haynes and Boone, LLP Partners Leslie Thorne, Ben Mesches and Associate Jason Jordan in an article about a Fifth Circuit ruling in favor of firm client Papalote Creek II LLC. This is the second time the Haynes and Boone team has prevailed in the Fifth Circuit on behalf of Papalote Creek II LLC, with the first victory coming in a prior appeal in 2017.
Here is an excerpt:
The Fifth Circuit said Friday a dispute between a wind power supplier and a Texas utility over whether there was a liability cap for the utility if it stopped purchasing power was not related to performance and was therefore outside of the scope of their contract's arbitration clause.
A three-judge panel overturned a lower court's decision and said Friday that Papalote Creek II LLC was not obligated to arbitrate a dispute over whether Lower Colorado River Authority enjoyed a $60 million liability cap for ending its power purchases.
The dispute over arbitration has been up and down the courts; this is the second time the Fifth Circuit has rejected arbitration in the case. The outcome means in part that LCRA will not have access to a method of dispute resolution that previously found it would owe no more than $60 million for ending power purchases. …
Ben L. Mesches, a Haynes and Boone LLP attorney representing Papalote, praised the outcome.
"From the beginning, it has been clear that LCRA's goal was to force premature arbitration on its own terms," Mesches told Law360 on Monday. "By adhering to the parties' chosen contractual language, the court has reaffirmed the fundamental principle that consent determines whether parties should be forced to arbitrate."
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