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RETENTION OF WINSTON & STRAWN LLP, TO REPRESENT THE CITY OF GAINESVILLE D/B/A GAINESVILLE REGIONAL UTILITIES IN MEDIATION WITH GAINESVILLE RENEWABLE ENERGY CENTER, LLC (NB)
explanation
On March 10, 2016, Gainesville Renewable Energy Center ("GREC") filed an arbitration demand with the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), AAA Case No. 01-16-0000-8157, to resolve a dispute between GREC and the City of Gainesville d/b/a Gainesville Regional Utilities ("GRU") concerning GREC's planned maintenance outage in April of 2016. On March 17, 2016, the City Commission approved the retention of outside counsel to represent the City in the arbitration. The outside counsel, Winston & Strawn LLP, has experience in PPA related litigation and AAA arbitration.
On June 17, 2016, pursuant to Section 24.1 of the PPA, GREC submitted a Notice of Claim disputing GRU's withholding of payment arising from the following four operational issues: (1) shutdown charges, (2) available energy payments during startup, (3) withholding of previously paid amounts, and (4) payment decrease for failure of GREC to meet operating level. GREC amended its arbitration demand to include the four additional issues. In addition, a sixth issue has arisen in the course of the arbitration, resulting in GRU disputing GREC's reporting of availability. On August 4, 2016, the City Commission approved increasing the scope of representation and fee cap for Winston & Strawn LLP to include the additional claims.
Rule R-9 of the AAA Commercial Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures requires mediation of disputes that exceed $75,000. However, since mediation is only a useful tool if both parties are willing to participate in good faith to resolve the disputes, the rule allows either party to provide notice that they are unilaterally opting-out of mediation. To date neither party has opted-out.
Winston & Strawn and the City Attorney's Office have encouraged good faith efforts to resolve t...
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