Attorneys for Bonneville Pacific Corp. believe their lawsuit, the largest civil suit in the state, will now go to trial following U.S. District Judge Bruce S. Jenkins' rulings Friday denying several motions by defendants to dismiss the suit.
"A trial is what's next," said Leo Beus, attorney for Bonneville Pacific's trustee. He noted, however, that a trial probably won't take place for some time.Bonneville Pacific, an independent electrical power producer, in 1992 sued its former creditor, Portland General Corp., seeking more than $100 million in damages. Portland General is a public utility based in Portland, Ore. The suit also named lawyers, accountants, bankers and associates as defendants.
In the years since, several other suits have resulted, as numerous investors in both companies have sought damages. The lengthy Bonneville complaint itself has been amended during that time and includes more than 50 defendants.
Jenkins began Friday's proceedings by dismissing the "so-called main conspiracy theory" claims in the suit. He said the complaint doesn't allege an agreement between all the defendants, which is a necessary component of a main conspiracy.
Yet Jenkins didn't grant any of the defendants who filed motions to be removed from the suit. He denied most of the counts in their motions to dismiss but granted those counts that stemmed from what he called repetitive allegations in the complaint.
Many parts of the complaint are "largely redundant of each other if not wholly duplicative," he said.