Northern Indiana Public Service Company ("NIPSCO") appeals the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s ("IURC" or "Commission") grant of United States Steel Corporation’s ("U.S. Steel") Motion for Summary Judgment. The parties each raise two issues on appeal, which we consolidate and re-state as:
(1) Whether this Court should review de novo an agency’s grant of summary judgment based entirely upon principles of contract interpretation; and
(2) Whether the IURC erred in interpreting the documents executed by the parties.
Conclusion (slip op. at 27): We reverse and remand for the IURC to enter summary judgment for NIPSCO and to calculate the amount U.S. Steel owes NIPSCO for application of the market based price adjustment factor to the Demand Charge, effective October 1, 2005. Reversed and remanded.
Key Analysis (slip op. at 26-27): We review de novo an agency’s grant of summary judgment when it is based entirely upon principles of contract interpretation . . . even if the Contract for Power’s pricing provisions and integration clause were ambiguous, it is clear that the parties intended the market based price adjustment factor to apply to the Demand Charge . . . summary judgment should be entered for NIPSCO.
Comments for Appellate court reviews de novo agency's grant of summary judgment when based entirely upon principles of contract