New Orleans Public Service, Inc. v. United Gas Pipe Line Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
732 F.2d 452 (1984)
United Gas Pipe Line Co. (defendant) supplied fuel to New Orleans Public Service, Inc. (NOPSI) (plaintiff), a public utility, under an interim agreement letting United unilaterally raise fuel prices annually, with NOPSI's only recourse being to reject the fuel entirely. When United announced a substantial 1981 price increase, NOPSI signed an agreement accepting the new rate while reserving its rights, then sued United in federal court, alleging it had signed under duress and that the price redetermination was invalid under Louisiana law. The Mayor and City of New Orleans, along with other individuals representing NOPSI's customers, sought to intervene, adopting NOPSI's allegations without asserting any independent legal basis for relief. The district court denied intervention both as of right and permissively; a Fifth Circuit panel affirmed denial of intervention as of right but found an abuse of discretion in denying permissive intervention, and the full Fifth Circuit agreed to rehear the case en banc.
Whether intervention is properly denied when the applicant's interest in the litigation is purely economic, not a distinct legally protectable right, and is already adequately represented by an existing party.