People are having luck in CA in small claims court getting smart meters removed from their premises.
The Plumas County Superior Court found in favor of a person who had an opt-out before the fee became state-wide policy, citing a state-wide law that states that utilities cannot require different rates (or prejudice or disadvantage) people because of medical conditions (or ancestry, marital status, occupation or other characteristics).
In this case, the Plaintiff had refused to pay the opt-out fee and the utility shut off their power. Citing Plaintiff’s doctor’s letter corroborating his assertion that he has Electromagnetic Field Sensitivity, the judge ordered the utility to cancel the opt-out fee and monthly fee, let the Plaintiff self-read the analog meter and turn his electricity back on (after 15 months).
The utility, the Plumas Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative is appealing and refuses to restore the Plaintiff’s electricity.
Here is the ruling and the Plaintiff’s demand letter:
J Hart Sup Court ruling 040615
In addition, there was a ruling in Orange County Superior Court against Southern California Edison on 2/21/12 that called for damages or for the utility to give the Plaintiff an analog meter. This seems problematic because if the utility decided to pay damages to avoid setting a precedent of providing a meter, the Plaintiff effectively would still have nowhere to live in the utility district: