Just Say No to Big Brother’s Smart Meters by Orlean Koehle


persons without the knowledge and informed consent of the occupants of the property. Further, the utility company stores that personal data in ways that render it susceptible to hackers, home invaders and other criminals who pose a serious risk of further injury and loss to the residents. Cause of Action (Violation of Constitutional Rights): The utility company purports to be acting pursuant to state and federal laws and administrative regulations in installing and maintaining a Smart Meter on the property. However, such laws and regulations are unconstitutional on their face or as applied in this case, in that they (a) violate the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, by usurping powers and disparaging rights possessed by the states or by the people, or by both; (b) violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, by depriving those who occupy the property the right to life, liberty and property without due process of law, and in violation of the right to equal treatment under the law with every other citizen of the United States, including those citizens who, by state law, are not made subject to Smart Meters; (c) violate Article I, Section 1 of the California Constitution, in that they deprive the occupants of the right to enjoy and defend their life and liberty, and deprive them of their right to acquire, possess, and protect their property, safety, happiness and privacy. Cause of Action (Personal Injury): The utility company is causing me personal injury because it installed a Smart Meter that causes electromagnetic waves that make me sick. [If there are facts to support the above claim, it can be inserted in the complaint]


Request for Relief At the end of your claims, you must tell the Court what you want it to do (this is your request for relief). In California, when a Small Claims Court action is filed seeking money damages, the Small Claims Court has jurisdiction (legal authority) to award money damages up to a maximum of $7,500.00, and to issue a court order in place of, or in addition to, an award of money damages. The authority for a Small Claims Court to issue a court order is found in California Code of Civil Procedure §§ 116.210-116.221. So, it may be appropriate not only to ask the Small Claims Court for the maximum amount of


money damages allowed by law, but also for a court order directed to the utility company ordering it to remove the Smart Meter from the property you own or in which you reside, and to reinstall the analog meter that it previously removed. One would expect a utility company to fight such an order by the Small Claims Court by appealing it to the regular Superior Court. But the utility company may have no better luck there. For owners of the property, the theory of getting a court-ordered removal is that the utility easement constitutes a contract between the owner and the utility company, a contract that by its terms and by law defines the rights (and limitations on the rights) of the parties in relation to how the easement and the property are to be used. The owner is asking the court for “specific performance” of the easement in order to eliminate the illegitimate use (burdening, trespass, etc.) represented by the utility company installing and maintaining a Smart Meter. For residents who are not owners, the theory of getting a court-ordered removal is that the


customer service contract the resident has with the utility company must by law be performed in “good faith” (this is implied as a matter of law in every contract in the State of California), and the installation of any Smart Meter that makes the resident ill, invades the resident’s privacy, etc., represents a bad faith breach of the customer service contract, entitling the resident to “specific performance” of the terms of contract (including the implied-in-law terms) in the form of a court- ordered removal of the Smart Meter.


A Note About Serving Papers on the Utility Company Small-claims lawsuits against corporations must be "served" (mailed or delivered in person) on the corporation's registered agent for receiving service of legal “process” (summons and complaint). You can find out the name of the utility company’s agent for service of process at this website (control-click the link to go to the web page or type http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/cbs.aspx into your browser’s web address field). If you look up the


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