PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) — A new class action lawsuit against Central Maine Power (CMP) is scheduled to be filed Wednesday, accusing the electric utility company of fraud.
The impending suit alleges CMP trained its service personnel to tell customers that the customer is at fault and that the power company did nothing wrong, an attorney associated with the legal filings said.
"Rather than acknowledging the errors," the complaint reads, "the power company told their customers the following:
1) the cold snap caused your furnace to be running more;
2) bad wiring in your house;
3) electrical appliances are causing over usage;
4) your appliances are old;
5) your kids must be playing too many video games;
6) it’s a heat pump;
7) it must be your well pump."
"All of this was done to hide the real story," the lawsuit claims, "that CMP's software program and meters were defective. The CMP personnel knew when the statements were made to the customers 'that it was the customers' fault.'"
The impending suit accuses CMP of serving a "disconnect notice" through its software program when customers did not pay, knowing bills were excessive and that customers were entering the winter season.
"People were caused to readjust their priorities so as to not lose their heat during the winter," the litigation claims, "so some went without food and medications."
Four lead plaintiffs will represent the class: Mark Levesque, involved in a previous class action filing; Christie Decker of Wilton; Lisa McLeod of Greenwood; and Michael Platt of Corinna.
The plaintiffs intend to seek "excessively charged" amounts from CMP as well as "punitive damages for fraud perpetrated on Maine citizens" from both CMP and its parent company, Avangrid, Augusta attorney Sumner Lipman said.
An initial lawsuit against CMP was filed July 19 by Augusta law firm Lipman & Katz; Auburn law firm Trafton, Matzen, Belleau & Frenette; and New York law firm Napoli & Shkolnik, on behalf of class representative Mark Levesque. Its basis was one count of "unjust enrichment," Lipman said.
