FARM BUREAU ENTERS STRAY VOLTAGE DEBATE
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2005 -- 9:47 AM
The Wisconsin Farm Bureau is getting involved in a Clark County court case that alleges stray voltage damages.Claiming negligence, strict liability, nuisance, and violations of electrical safety statutes and Public Service Commission rules, Clark County farmers Ralph and Karline Schmidt, and Marathon County farmers August and Joanne Heeg, filed the lawsuit against Xcel Energy in 2001.
Judge Counsell dismissed the case this year ruling the statute of limitations had expired because the farmers had investigated whether their problems were caused by stray voltage for more than a decade.
The WFB has filed a ?Friend of the Court? brief in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals seeking to overturn Clark County Circuit Court Judge Jon Counsell?s decision to dismiss the suits.
The Farm Bureau?s brief says the judge was wrong to dismiss the lawsuits on the grounds the statute of limitations had expired. They claim the statute of limitations should not begin to run against a farmer until the farmer reasonably discovers that stray voltage is the cause of the troubles. They say the judge?s ruling rewards power companies for dragging their feet when investigating stray voltage complaints.
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