Allco Fin. Ltd. v. Roisman

── Allco Fin. Ltd. v. Roisman ── Case No.: 24-3331 Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Date: March 23, 2026 Category: General 24-3331 Allco Fin. Ltd. v. Roisman UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT SUMMARY ORDER Rulings by summary order do not have precedential effect. Citation to a summary order filed on or after January 1, 2007, is permitted and is governed by Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1 and this court’s Local Rule 32.1.1. When citing a summary order in a document filed with this court, a party must cite either the Federal Appendix or an electronic database (with the notation “summary order”). A party citing a summary order must serve a copy of it on any party not represented by counsel. At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, in the City of New York, on the 23rd day of March, two thousand twenty-six. PRESENT: Debra Ann Livingston, Chief Judge, José A. Cabranes, Steven J. Menashi, Circuit Judges. ____________________________________________ ALLCO FINANCE LIMITED, CHELSEA SOLAR LLC, and APPLE HILL SOLAR LLC, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. No. 24-3331 ANTHONY ROISMAN, RILEY ALLEN, and MARGARET CHENEY, in their official capacities as commissioners of the VERMONT PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION,  Defendants-Appellees. * ____________________________________________ For Plaintiffs-Appellants: THOMAS MELONE, Allco Finance Limited, New Haven, CT. For Defendants-Appellees: DAVID GOLUBOCK, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Vermont Attorney General, Montpelier, VT. Appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont (Crawford, J.). Upon due consideration, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. Plaintiffs Allco Finance Limited, Chelsea Solar LLC, and Apple Hill Solar LLC (“Allco”) 1 sued the commissioners of the Vermont Public Utility Commission alleging two violations of federal law. According to Allco, (1) Vermont’s Standard Offer Program for utility contracts for certain qualifying energy facilities is preempted by both the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. § 791a et seq. (“FPA”), and the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, 16 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. (“PURPA”), and (2) Vermont committed a taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment when it adopted a statutory amendment rendering Allco’s Chelsea Solar facility ineligible for the Standard Offer Program. The district court dismissed the complaint on the grounds that (1) Vermont’s program is not preempted and (2) Vermont’s regulations “do not reach the level of an *The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to amend the official caption as set forth above. 1We refer to the plaintiffs collectively as “Allco.” Allco Finance Limited is the single member of Chelsea Solar LLC and Apple Hill Solar LLC. See J. App’x 17 (¶¶ 46-47). 2 unconstitutional taking.” Allco Fin. Ltd. v. Roisman, No. 23-CV-691, 2024 WL 5276715, at *14 (D. Vt. Nov. 19, 2024). But Allco previously litigated the question of whether federal law preempts the Standard Offer Program before the Vermont Supreme Court. See In re Investigation to Review Avoided Costs that Serve as Prices for Standard-Offer Program in 2020, 215 Vt. 140, 142 (2021). Accordingly, we conclude that Allco’s preemption claim is barred by collateral estoppel. We agree with the district court that Allco failed to state a takings claim. We assume the parties’ familiarity with the facts, procedural hi