Judge rules against Havre pipeline on farm taps

A state district judge has dismissed a lawsuit alleging the Public Service Commission overstepped its bounds when it ruled Havre Pipeline and its parent company, NorthWestern Energy, could not abandon service to rural customers on connections known as farm taps without obtaining PSC permission.

The Public Service Commission said in a press release Wednesday that Judge Yvonne Laird issued the ruling Friday, granting the request of the PSC and Montana Consumer Counsel to dismiss the lawsuit.

Laird ruled that an identical matter was settled by the courts in 1995 and legal doctrine prevented dupli...