Annual Report 2010 - Enel.com

Out-of-court disputes and
litigation connected with the
blackout of September 28,
2003
In the wake of the blackout that occurred on September
28, 2003, numerous claims were submitted for automatic
and other indemnities for losses. These claims gave rise to
substantial litigation before justices of the peace, mainly
in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Basilicata, with
a total of some 120,000 proceedings. Charges in respect
of such indemnities could be recovered in part under existing
insurance policies. About two thirds of the initial
rulings by these judges found in favor of the plaintiffs,
while appellate courts have nearly all found in favor of
Enel Distribuzione, based upon both the lack of proof of
the loss claimed and the recognition that the company
was not involved in causing the event. The few adverse
rulings against Enel Distribuzione have been appealed to
the Court of Cassation, which has consistently ruled in favor
of Enel, confirming the position established in orders
17282, 17283 and 17284 of July 23, 2009, which in finding
for the appellant found no liability on the part of Enel
Distribuzione.
In May 2008, Enel served its insurance company a summons
to ascertain its right to reimbursement of amounts
paid in settlement of unfavorable rulings.
As of November 30, 2010, pending cases concerning the
blackout of 2003 had fallen to about 70,000 due to Court
decisions and/or abandonment of suits by the plaintiffs,
and the flow of new claims has come to a halt.
Litigation concerning free bill
payment procedures
In its ruling no. 2507/2010 of May 3, 2010, the Council
of State granted the appeal of the Authority for Electricity
and Gas (the Authority) against ruling no. 321/08 of
February 13, 2008 with which the Lombardy Regional
Court had voided Resolution no. 66/07. With the latter,
the Authority had fined Enel Distribuzione €11.7 million
for violation of the provisions of Resolution no. 55/2000
concerning the transparency of invoices. Enel Distribuzione
lodged an appeal with the Council of State asking for
it to revoke the ruling but the appeal was denied on February
24, 2011.
The appeal lodged on October 29, 2010, with the European
Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is pending. In
Enel’s view, with the ruling the Council of State adopted
an interpretation of the legal concept of legality that differs
sharply from that usually adopted in the case law of
the European court. If the appeal is successful, the Italian
State would be ordered to pay damages in the amount of
the fine paid.
Finmek/Enel.Factor litigation
On April 29, 2009 Enel.Factor was issued a summons by
Finmek SpA, a company under special administration. The
dispute concerns a factoring relationship involving the
assignment from Finmek to Enel.Factor of receivables in
respect of a contract between Finmek and Enel Distribuzione
SpA for the supply of remote-readable digital meters
to Enel Distribuzione. The assignments began in 2001
and continued until April 2004, when Finmek SpA entered
special administration. With the summons, Finmek asked
the court to ascertain the unenforceability of assignments
carried out between May 7, 2003 and March 23, 2004
and to revoke or declare inoperative the assignments carried
out in that period. Finmek’s overall claim amounts to
about $50 million. The next hearing before the Court of
Padua has been scheduled for March 29, 2011.
Porto Tolle thermal plant
- Air pollution - Criminal
proceedings against Enel
directors and employees -
Damages for environmental
harm
The Court of Adria, in a ruling issued March 31, 2006
concluding criminal proceedings begun in 2005, convicted
former directors and employees of Enel for a
number of incidents of air pollution caused by emissions
from the Porto Tolle thermoelectric plant. The decision,
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