Resident’s request rejected in AMED case

Powell sought to add Penelec as defendant in previous eminent domain ruling

Commonwealth Court has rejected a Lakemont man's attempt to hold Penelec responsible for what the man contends was an infringement on his property, when the utility company upgraded a single-phase power line to three-phase to serve AMED's new headquarters building.

In doing so, the appeals court upheld a 2022 ruling by Blair County Court that Roy Powell cannot add Penelec as a defendant in his eminent domain case against AMED -- a case in which Powell previously obtained a successful judgment in Commonwealth Court.

Based on that earlier, successful judgment, AMED must pay Powell's attorney fees and a nominal fee for having briefly held an easement to Powell's property that it wasn't entitled to, but if Powell wants to obtain satisfaction from Penelec, he'll need to try to do so through a separate court action, Commonwealth Court ruled in the latest case.

"I'm currently consulting with attorneys" about that potential court action, Powell said Friday.

Penelec was entitled to construct the three-phase upgrade, based on the longstanding -- since 1931 -- presence of the single-phase line, which created an implied "prescriptive" easement that allows for improvements that would ordinarily occur with the advancement of technology, Penelec previously argued in the AMED case.

The first Commonwealth Court ruling that AMED was not permitted to use eminent domain to construct a power line turned out to be a "hollow victory," Powell said previously.

After that first ruling, Powell and AMED participated in mediation before a Blair County judge, but didn't reach an agreement.

The mediation talks touched on attorney fees, the value of the easement, removal of the line and even potential purchase of the property by AMED.

Powell's demands were "unrealistic," AMED Executive Director Gary Watters said previously.

In the motion that both Blair County Court and Commonwealth Court rejected, Powell sought not only the inclusion of Penelec in the AMED case, but a finding of trespass against the utility company and an order to remove the offending two lines that were added to the power poles at the back edge of his property to carry three-phase service.

Contrary to Powell's assertions in the case, the addition of those additional lines didn't add restrictions on Powell's use of his yard, Watters has said.

Powell previously estimated his legal fees to be about $50,000.

He represented himself in the second appeal to Commonwealth Court.

AMED will require that the attorney bills be itemized, Watters said.

The first Commonwealth Court ruling also required that AMED pay for engineering and appraisal fees, but Powell didn't use an engineer on the case or obtain an appraisal, Watters said.

Based on the information that has come out in the case, Penelec could have upgraded the line to three-phase without asking AMED to obtain property easements, based on the prescriptive easement, according to Watters.

That would have saved money, delay and conflict, he said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.