The standard for proving damages in spent nuclear fuel cases is becoming clearer.  As a result of delays in construction of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, nuclear utilities across the country have been forced to incur extensive costs storing spent nuclear fuel that would otherwise have been transferred to Yucca Mountain, leading to a series of decisions at the Court of Federal Claims and the Federal Circuit.  The Federal Circuit’s March 11, 2011 decision in Southern Nuclear Operating Co. v. United States, No. 2008-5020 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 11, 2011) [PDF] clarifies the parties’ roles in proving damages.
Continue Reading Damages in spent nuclear fuel cases – who has what burden?