ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Exelon
Securities Litigation. Between May 8 and June 14, 2002, several class action lawsuits were filed in the Federal District Court in Chicago asserting nearly identical securities law claims on behalf of purchasers of Exelon securities between April 24, 2001 and September 27, 2001 (Class Period). The complaints allege that Exelon violated Federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements relating to its 2001 earnings expectations during the Class Period. The court consolidated the pending cases into one lawsuit and has appointed two lead plaintiffs as well as lead counsel.
On October 1, 2002, the plaintiffs filed a consolidated amended complaint. In addition to the original claims, this complaint contains allegations of new facts and contains several new theories of liability. Exelon believes the lawsuit is without merit and is vigorously contesting this matter.
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ComEd
Chicago Franchise. In March 1999, ComEd reached a settlement agreement with Chicago to end the arbitration proceeding between ComEd and Chicago regarding their January 1, 1992 franchise agreement. As part of the settlement agreement, ComEd and Chicago agreed to a revised combination of ongoing work under the franchise agreement and new initiatives that will result in defined transmission and distribution expenditures by ComEd to improve electric services in Chicago. The settlement agreement provides that ComEd would be subject to liquidated damages if the projects are not completed by various dates, unless it was prevented from doing so by events beyond its reasonable control. In addition, ComEd and Chicago established an Energy Reliability and Capacity Account, into which ComEd paid $25 million during each of the years 1999 through 2002, to help ensure an adequate and reliable electric supply for Chicago. No further payments by ComEd into the Energy Reliability and Capacity Account are required.
On February 20, 2003, ComEd entered into separate agreements with Chicago and with Midwest Generation (Midwest Agreement). Under the terms of the agreement with Chicago, ComEd will pay Chicago $60 million over ten years and be relieved of a requirement, originally transferred to Midwest Generation upon the sale of ComEd's fossil stations in 1999, to build a 500-MW generation facility. Under the terms of the Midwest Agreement, ComEd will receive from Midwest Generation $36 million over ten years, $22 million of which was received on February 20, 2003, to relieve Midwest Generation's obligation under the fossil sale agreement. Midwest Generation will also assume from Chicago a Capacity Reservation Agreement which Chicago had entered into with Calumet Energy Team, LLC (CET), which is effective through June 2012. ComEd will reimburse Chicago for any nonperformance by Midwest Generation under the Capacity Reservation Agreement and will pay approximately $2 million for amounts owed to CET by Chicago at the time the agreement is executed. The net effect of the settlement to ComEd will be amortized over the remaining life of the franchise agreement with Chicago.
FERC Municipal Request for Refund. Three of ComEd's wholesale municipal customers filed a complaint and request for refund with FERC, alleging that ComEd failed to properly adjust its rates, as provided for under the terms of the electric service contracts with the municipal customers and to track certain refunds made to ComEd's retail customers in the years 1992 through 1994. In the third quarter of 1998, FERC granted the complaint and directed that refunds be made, with interest. ComEd filed a request for rehearing. On April 30, 2001, FERC issued an order granting rehearing in which it determined that its 1998 order had been erroneous and that no refunds were due from ComEd to the municipal customers. In August 2001, each of the three wholesale municipal customers appealed the April 30, 2001 FERC order to the Federal circuit court, which consolidated the appeals for the purposes of briefing and decision. The Federal circuit court has stayed the proceedings pending settlement negotiations among the parties.
Retail Rate Law. In 1996, several developers of non-utility generating facilities filed litigation against various Illinois officials claiming that the enforcement against those facilities of an amendment to Illinois law removing the entitlement of those facilities to state-subsidized payments for electricity sold to ComEd after March 15, 1996 violated their rights under the Federal and state constitutions. The developers also filed suit against ComEd for a declaratory judgment that their rights under their contracts with ComEd were not affected by the amendment. On November 25, 2002, the court granted developers' motions for summary judgment. The judge also entered a permanent injunction enjoining ComEd from refusing to pay the retail rate on the grounds of the amendment, and Illinois from denying ComEd a tax credit on account of such purchases. ComEd and Illinois have each appealed the ruling. ComEd believes that it did not breach the contracts in question and that the damages claimed far exceed any loss that any project incurred by reason of its ineligibility for the subsidized rate. ComEd intends to prosecute its appeal and defend each case vigorously.
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Service Interruptions. In August 1999, three class action lawsuits were filed against ComEd, and subsequently consolidated, in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois seeking damages for personal injuries, property damage and economic losses related to a series of service interruptions that occurred in the summer of 1999. The combined effect of these interruptions resulted in over 168,000 customers losing service for more than four hours. Conditional class certification was approved by the court for the sole purpose of exploring settlement. ComEd filed a motion to dismiss the complaints. On April 24, 2001, the court dismissed four of the five counts of the consolidated complaint without prejudice and the sole remaining count was dismissed in part. On June 1, 2001, the plaintiffs filed a second amended consolidated complaint and ComEd has filed an answer. On December 5, 2002, a settlement was reached, pending court approval, whereby ComEd will pay up to $8 million, which includes $4 million paid to date. The settlement, when approved, will release ComEd from all claims arising from the 1999 power outages. A portion of any settlement or verdict may be covered by insurance.
PECO
None.
Generation
Godley Park District Litigation. On April 18, 2001, the Godley Park District filed suit in Will County Circuit Court against ComEd and Generation alleging that oil spills at Braidwood Station have contaminated the Park District's water supply. The complaint sought actual damages, punitive damages of $100 million and statutory penalties. The court dismissed all counts seeking punitive damages and statutory penalties, and the plaintiff has filed an amended complaint before the court. The amended complaint added counts under the Illinois Public Utility Act (PUA), which provides for statutory penalties and allows recovery of attorney's fees. On November 8, 2002, the Godley Park District voluntarily dismissed its lawsuit.
Cotter Corporation Litigation. During 1989 and 1991, actions were brought in Federal and state courts in Colorado against ComEd and its subsidiary, Cotter Corporation (Cotter), seeking unspecified damages and injunctive relief based on allegations that Cotter permitted radioactive and other hazardous material to be released from its mill into areas owned or occupied by the plaintiffs, resulting in property damage and potential adverse health effects. In 1994, a Federal jury returned nominal dollar verdicts against Cotter on eight plaintiffs' claims in the 1989 cases, which verdicts were upheld on appeal. The remaining claims in the 1989 actions were settled or dismissed. In 1998, a jury verdict was rendered against Cotter in favor of 14 of the plaintiffs in the 1991 cases, totaling approximately $6 million in compensatory and punitive damages, interest and medical monitoring. On appeal, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the jury verdict, and remanded the case for new trial. These plaintiffs' cases were consolidated with the remaining 26 plaintiffs' cases, which had not been tried. The consolidated trial was completed on June 28, 2001. The jury returned a verdict against Cotter and awarded $16 million in various damages. On November 20, 2001, the District Court entered an amended final judgment that included an award of both pre-judgment and post-judgment interests, costs, and medical monitoring expenses that total $43 million. In November 2000, another trial involving a separate sub-group of 13 plaintiffs, seeking $19 million in damages plus interest was completed in Federal District Court in Denver. The jury awarded nominal damages of $42,500 to 11 of 13 plaintiffs, but awarded no damages for any personal injury or health claims, other than requiring Cotter to perform periodic medical monitoring at minimal cost. Cotter appealed these judgments to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Cotter is vigorously contesting the awards.
On February 18, 2000, ComEd sold Cotter to an unaffiliated third party. As part of the sale, ComEd agreed to indemnify Cotter for any liability incurred by Cotter as a result of these actions, as well as any liability arising in connection with the West Lake Landfill discussed in the next paragraph.
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In connection with Exelon's 2001 corporate restructuring, the responsibility to indemnify Cotter for any liability related to these matters was transferred by ComEd to Generation.
The EPA has advised Cotter that it is potentially liable in connection with radiological contamination at a site known as the West Lake Landfill in Missouri. Cotter is alleged to have disposed of approximately 39,000 tons of soils mixed with 8,700 tons of leached barium sulfate at the site. Cotter, along with three other companies identified by the EPA as PRPs, has submitted, a draft feasibility study addressing options for remediation of the site. The PRPs are also engaged in discussions with the State of Missouri and the EPA. The estimated costs of remediation for the site range from $0 to $87 million. Once a remedy is selected, it is expected that the PRPs will agree on an allocation of responsibility for the costs. Until an agreement is reached, Generation cannot predict its share of the costs.
Raytheon Arbitration. In March 2001, two subsidiaries of Sithe New England Holdings acquired in November 2002, brought an action in the New York Supreme Court against Raytheon Corporation (Raytheon) relating to its failure to honor its guaranty with respect to the performance of the Mystic and Fore River projects, as a result of the abandonment of the projects by the turnkey contractor. In a related proceeding, in May 2002, Raytheon submitted claims to the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration seeking equitable relief and damages for alleged owner caused performance delays in connection with the Fore River Power Plant Engineering, Procurement & Construction Agreement (EPC Agreement). The EPC Agreement, executed by a Raytheon subsidiary and guaranteed by Raytheon, governs the design, engineering, construction, start-up, testing and delivery of an 800 MW combined-cycle power plant in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Raytheon recently amended its claim and now seeks 141 days of schedule relief (which would reduce Raytheon's liquidated damage payment for late delivery by approximately $25 million) and additional damages of $16 million. Raytheon also has asserted a claim for loss of efficiency and productivity as a result of an alleged constructive acceleration, for which a claim has not yet been quantified. Generation believes the Raytheon assertions are without merit and is vigorously contesting these claims. Hearings by the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration with respect to liability were held in January and February 2003. A decision on liability is expected to be issued in May 2003 and, if necessary, additional hearings will be held on damages in May and June of 2003.
Real Estate Tax Appeals. Generation is involved in tax appeals regarding a number of its nuclear facilities, Limerick Generating Station (Montgomery County, PA), Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station (York County, PA) and Quad Cities Station (Rock Island County, IL). The tax appeal relating to one of its fossil facilities, Eddystone (Delaware County, PA), was resolved during 2002. Generation is also involved in the tax appeal for Three Mile Island (Dauphin County, PA) through AmerGen. Generation does not believe the outcome of these matters will have a material adverse effect on Generation's results of operations or financial condition.
General
Exelon, ComEd, PECO and Generation are involved in various other litigation matters. The ultimate outcome of such matters, as well as the matters discussed above, while uncertain, are not expected to have a material adverse effect on their respective financial condition or results of operations.
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