Judge rules in favor of TVA over Bellefonte sale

Recently, U.S. District Judge Liles Burke sided with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in a lawsuit claiming they breached its contract with Nuclear Development LLC over the acquisition of the Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant. Judge Liles ruled that TVA was within its rights to cancel the sale of the power plant to the Memphis based organization after they did not obtain the necessary regulatory permits. 

TVA Spokesperson Scott Fiedler provided HBJ with a statement regarding the ruling. 

“We welcome last week’s rulings in favor of TVA, which confirms the Court’s final judgment that TVA did not breach its contract with Nuclear Development when TVA terminated the sale of the Bellefonte facility after Nuclear Development failed to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals. Our goal remains to return the Bellefonte property to productive use, and we continue to work with community leaders to explore possibilities for the future. No decisions have been made at this time.”

TVA began building the plant in 1974 and stopped work in 1988 after spending some $6 billion on the project.

The lawsuit between the two parties had been going on for almost three years.  In April of 2021 Judge Liles Burke denied motions of summary from the Tennessee Valley Authority and Nuclear Development LLC after each side presented oral arguments and decided the case had to go to trial. 

This final update comes almost six full years after an agreement to sell the twin-reactor nuclear plant near Scottsboro, was negotiated between the TVA and real estate developer Franklin Haney and his company, Nuclear Development.

A day before the closing date outlined in the original deal, Nov. 14, 2018, TVA sent a letter to Nuclear Development informing them they would not be completing the sale due to Nuclear Development failing to secure all the necessary permits required by the Atomic Energy Act. TVA attorney Matthew Lembke said moving forward with the sale would have been “illegal” and this all stems due to Nuclear Development’s lack of diligence.

However, those representing Nuclear Development said they believed every obligation had been met on their end.