COMMENTARY
MARK SCHUMANN
In representing the Lee County Electric Cooperative before the Florida Public Service Commission, Indian River Shores special counsel, Bruce May, is putting forward essentially the opposite argument he is making on behalf of the Shores.
With great conviction, May insists the Shores Town Council’s authority to enter interfranchise agreements trumps the Florida Public Service Commission’s power to assign utilities exclusive rights to serve designated territories.
Representing the Lee County Electric Cooperative, May submitted to the PSC on April 14 a brief contradicting the very argument he is making on behalf of Indian River Shores. Lawyers may be given to forwarding contrary legal positions when representing different clients, but May takes professionally hypocrisy to a new level.
Indian River Shores Town manager, Robert Stabe, told InsideVero he had not idea May was representing the Lee County Electric Cooperative, this despite careful vetting conducted outside the sunshine. (See: Indian River Shores “workaround” may avoid Sunshine law)
Vero Electric serves the Town of Indian River Shores and a portion of the unincorporated areas of Indian River County under a territory agreement and assignment from the PSC. May argues this territory assignment from the PSC is subordinate to the the franchise agreement between the Shores and Vero Beach, which is set to expire in 2016.
In his April 14 filing May wrote, “The District’s (Babcock Ranch Community Independent Special District) Notice and Petition constitutes an unauthorized and unprecedented effort to unilaterally seize LCEC’s exclusive service area established by territorial agreements approved by the Commission as far back as 1965.
“This ill-conceived effort is based on a fundamentally flawed interpretation of the special act that created the District—a mistaken interpretation that (i) conveniently fails to mention that nothing in the special act authorizes the District to operate as an electric utility, or provide electric distribution services that would infringe upon LCEC’s exclusive service area, and (ii) ignores the plain language in the special act that subordinates the District’s asserted powers to the Commission’s exclusive jurisdiction over, and pre-existing approval of, longstanding territorial agreements. (Emphasis added)
“Furthermore, the District’s distorted interpretation of the special act (if adopted by the Commission) would render the act itself unconstitutional, since it would trigger a taking of LCEC’s exclusive service area without compensation and an impermissible impairment of LCEC’s territorial agreement with Florida Power and Light Company (“FPL”). Moreover, the District’s attempt to unilaterally seize LCEC’s exclusive service area would not lead to good public policy. Taking an exclusive service area away from an existing utility that has served (and remains willing and able to serve), and relegating that area to a non-utility that does not have the ability to serve, would hinder—not help—economic development.”
Given the contrary argument May is making on behalf of Indian River Shores, that he could have written the above on behalf of the Lee County Electric Cooperative is nothing short of amazing.
Indian River Guardian 
This is a very rare situation, never again to be duplicated. “An attorney that speaks out of both sides of his mouth” and takes a case solely for financial gains. Amazing!!!!
Vero can save a lot of time and money by using Mr May’s exact words. I would then like to see him counter his earlier legal writings.