The ongoing battle between the city of Naperville and opponents of the city’s smart meter installation project went before a judge on Thursday for a status hearing.
A federal judge ruled Thursday that the city may file a response to the Naperville Smart Meter Awareness group’s motion for preliminary injunction and present its motion to dismiss.
Meanwhile, more smart meters continue to be installed as part of the city of Naperville’s Smart Grid Initiative, with installation about 40 percent complete.
The Naperville Smart Meter Awareness group filed in federal court on Dec. 30, days before the city was to begin installing the meters. At the time, the group said it was filing to stay the installation of the meters.
In a news release Thursday the city of Naperville asserted that Judge Edmond Chang denied the Naperville Smart Meter Awareness group’s request that residents who do not want the smart meters be allowed to retain their analog meters,
But, the Naperville Smart Meter Awareness group’s attorney Doug Ibendahl said in a video statement that during the status hearing on the group’s motion for preliminary injunction, which asks the court to allow customers who want to keep their analog meters while the request moves through the court, the judge ruled the city would have a chance to respond to the filing and the judge would be making a ruling once all of the responses have been filed.
Once all the responses are filed in federal court, the city will have an opportunity to present its motion to dismiss before the court, according to the city of Naperville.
“This lawsuit simply fails to state a case,” city Attorney Margo Ely said in a news release. “It is an attempt to utilize the court system to overturn a lawful, legislative decision by the City Council. This is not an appropriate use of our judicial system. The plaintiffs’ claim that smart meters can monitor private activities in homes has no merit. The city’s smart grid initiative does not implicate any constitutional or other legal rights.”