Dreyer v. Portland General Electric Co.

In these consolidated actions against defendant Portland General Electric Company (PGE) brought by current and former customers of that utility, PGE asks this court to issue writs of mandamus ordering the Marion County Circuit Court to dismiss plaintiffs’ actions and to vacate an order certifying plaintiffs as a class. PGE contends, among other things, that the circuit court lacks jurisdiction to hear the actions because the cases necessarily involve rate-setting, a function that the legislature has delegated exclusively to the Oregon Public Utility Commission (the PUC). Although we reject…