Midwest Energy Emissions v. Tucson Electric Power: MDL Transfer After 153 Days
Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. (now Birchtech Corp.) filed suit in Arizona against Tucson Electric Power and five co-defendants, asserting five patents covering mercury capture technology used at coal-fired power plants. After 153 days, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered the case transferred to the Southern District of Iowa for consolidated pretrial proceedings.
Five Mercury Capture Patents, Six Defendants, One MDL Transfer
Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. — operating now under the name Birchtech Corp. — filed this infringement action in the District of Arizona on July 17, 2024, targeting six defendants tied to coal-fired power generation in the Southwest: Tucson Electric Power Company, Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, San Carlos Resources Inc., Springerville Unit 3 Holding LLC, Springerville Unit 3 Partnership LP, and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. The five asserted patents — US10589225B2, US10596517B2, US10343114B2, US10668430B2, and US10930370B2 — cover mercury capture technologies deployed at facilities including the Coronado and Springerville Generating Stations.
The case did not reach a merits disposition in Arizona. On December 12, 2024, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation issued a Transfer Order consolidating this and related actions into the Southern District of Iowa, assigned to the Honorable Stephen H. Locher for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings. The Arizona docket was formally closed on December 17, 2024. An MDL transfer does not resolve the underlying claims — it centralises pretrial work to avoid duplicative discovery and inconsistent rulings across multiple districts.
The 153-day arc from filing to transfer suggests the JPML moved swiftly, consistent with parallel actions already pending in other jurisdictions — a pattern that typically signals a broader licensing enforcement campaign by ME2C/Birchtech against coal-plant operators. What remains unknown from the public record is the full scope of related actions consolidated into the MDL, the specific infringement theories advanced for each patent, and whether any defendants have initiated inter partes review proceedings against the asserted patents.
Filing to Case Transferred in 153 days
153 days from filing to JPML transfer order — faster than typical MDL consolidation timelines
JPML transfer to S.D. Iowa: what the MDL consolidation means
MDL transfer centralises pretrial — merits claims survive intact
A JPML Transfer Order under 28 U.S.C. § 1407 moves related federal cases to a single district for coordinated pretrial proceedings. It does not dismiss, settle, or adjudicate the underlying patent claims. All five asserted patents remain in active dispute. Once pretrial proceedings conclude in the Southern District of Iowa, individual cases may be remanded to their originating districts — including Arizona — for trial.
Claims intact — venue changedCentralised MDL favours plaintiff’s enforcement campaign
For ME2C/Birchtech, MDL consolidation typically benefits a patentee pursuing multiple defendants on the same technology. A single coordinated discovery process reduces litigation cost per defendant, and a consistent claim construction ruling from one judge applies across all consolidated actions. The swift JPML transfer suggests related cases were already pending, consistent with a structured licensing enforcement strategy across the coal-power sector.
Enforcement leverage maintainedSix defendants now face unified proceedings in Iowa
Tucson Electric Power, Salt River Project, and the four other defendants must now litigate in the Southern District of Iowa rather than their home Arizona jurisdiction. MDL consolidation can pressure defendants toward settlement, as individual defence strategies become harder to maintain under a shared pretrial schedule. Defendants may coordinate invalidity arguments and joint IPR filings to challenge the five asserted patents at the USPTO.
Coordinated defence likely neededCoal-plant mercury compliance IP now under MDL scrutiny
Mercury capture technology at coal-fired plants intersects with Clean Air Act compliance obligations, making the commercial stakes significant. A consolidated claim construction ruling on ME2C/Birchtech’s five patents will set the scope of potential infringement across the sector. Other coal-plant operators using refined coal or analogous mercury reduction systems should monitor the S.D. Iowa docket for claim construction orders that could define their own exposure.
Sector-wide claim construction watchFull party and counsel information
| Role | Name | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff | Midwest Energy Emissions Corporation | Company | Mercury capture technology licensor — holder of US10589225B2 and four related patentsSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant | Tucson Electric Power Company | Company | Arizona and regional coal-fired power plant operators and affiliated entitiesSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Co-Defendant | Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District | Individual | Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Co-Defendant | San Carlos Resources Incorporated | Individual | Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Co-Defendant | Springerville Unit 3 Holding LLC | Company | Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Co-Defendant | Springerville Unit 3 Partnership LP | Company | Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Co-Defendant | Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Incorporated | Individual | Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Bradley W. Caldwell | Attorney | Counsel for Midwest Energy Emissions CorporationSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Carson A Howard | Attorney | Counsel for Midwest Energy Emissions CorporationSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Geoffrey S. Kercsmar | Attorney | Counsel for Midwest Energy Emissions CorporationSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Justin T Nemunaitis | Attorney | Counsel for Midwest Energy Emissions CorporationSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Richard A Cochrane | Attorney | Counsel for Midwest Energy Emissions CorporationSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Sean James O’Hara | Attorney | Counsel for Midwest Energy Emissions CorporationSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | Caldwell Cassady & Curry PC | Law Firm | Representing Midwest Energy Emissions CorporationSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | Kercsmar & O’Hara PLLC | Law Firm | Representing Midwest Energy Emissions CorporationSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant counsel | Michael James Curley. | Attorney | Counsel for Tucson Electric Power CompanySearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant law firm | Quarles & Brady LLP | Law Firm | Representing Tucson Electric Power CompanySearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Presiding judge | Judge Diane J Humetewa | Judge | Arizona District CourtSearch in Eureka ↗ |
Official order — verbatim text
The transfer notice references the JPML’s December 12, 2024 Transfer Order directing consolidation into the Southern District of Iowa. This is a procedural disposition only — no merits ruling, claim construction, or liability finding was reached in Arizona. The phrasing ‘coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings’ signals that individual liability questions remain open. The assigned judge, Hon. Stephen H. Locher, will govern all pretrial activity including claim construction, which will be binding across the consolidated docket.
US10589225B2 — Mercury capture technology for coal-fired power generation
The five asserted patents — US10589225B2, US10596517B2, US10343114B2, US10668430B2, and US10930370B2 — share a common technical domain: the capture and reduction of mercury emissions from coal-fired power plant flue gases. The application numbers span filings from 2015 onward, suggesting a portfolio built through continuation practice to maintain prosecution leverage. These patents cover compositions, methods, and systems for treating coal or flue gas streams to capture mercury before atmospheric release, a process with direct Clean Air Act compliance implications.
For the electric utility sector, this portfolio represents a compliance-critical technology risk. Operators of coal-fired generating stations that use refined coal products or activated sorbent injection systems face potential infringement exposure if their mercury capture processes fall within the claim scope of any of these five patents. ME2C/Birchtech’s decision to assert all five patents simultaneously — across multiple defendants operating distinct generating stations — suggests the portfolio is designed to cover the field of commercially deployed mercury capture methods, making design-around difficult without departing from proven compliance approaches.
Should you run an FTO against US10589225B2 and the ME2C mercury capture portfolio?
Any operator, technology supplier, or EPC contractor involved in mercury capture systems at coal-fired generating stations should treat this MDL as a trigger for an immediate freedom-to-operate review. The five asserted patents cover compositions and methods that appear to span the major commercial approaches to mercury emission control. With claim construction proceedings now centralising in the Southern District of Iowa, the window to influence scope — through IPR or amicus input — is narrowing.
PatSnap Eureka’s FTO Search Agent can map each of the five asserted patent claim sets against your specific mercury capture process, identify the relevant prior art landscape, and flag continuation applications still in prosecution that could extend portfolio coverage. Eureka’s litigation monitoring layer will alert your team when the S.D. Iowa MDL docket publishes claim construction briefs — giving you lead time to assess commercial risk before binding interpretations are issued.
Run a freedom-to-operate analysis on US10589225B2 to assess your product’s exposure
Run FTO in Eureka →Similar mercury capture patent cases in federal district courts
Related mercury capture and coal-plant emission control patent cases litigated in federal district courts, including prior ME2C/Birchtech enforcement actions.
What this case signals for the mercury capture IP landscape
The MDL transfer reveals a coordinated enforcement campaign — and raises the stakes for every coal-plant operator using mercury capture technology.
MDL consolidation signals a multi-defendant licensing sweep
When a patentee triggers JPML consolidation across multiple defendants in the same technical space, it typically signals a structured assertion campaign. Coal-plant operators and their technology suppliers should audit refined coal and mercury sorbent processes against ME2C/Birchtech’s five-patent portfolio before the S.D. Iowa claim construction hearing sets binding scope.
JPML speed suggests parallel actions already in flight
A 153-day filing-to-transfer timeline is fast, implying related actions were already pending in other districts when this Arizona case was filed. IP teams at energy utilities should search PACER for the full MDL docket to identify the complete defendant list — the consolidated proceeding will produce claim constructions that affect all current and future defendants equally.
Midwest v Tucson — key questions answered
ME2C (now Birchtech Corp.) filed patent infringement claims in D. Arizona on July 17, 2024, asserting five mercury capture patents against six coal-plant defendants. On December 12, 2024, the JPML issued a Transfer Order consolidating the case into the Southern District of Iowa for MDL pretrial proceedings. The Arizona docket closed December 17, 2024 with no merits ruling.
ME2C asserted five patents: US10589225B2, US10596517B2, US10343114B2, US10668430B2, and US10930370B2. All relate to mercury capture and emission reduction technology used at coal-fired power generating stations, including the Coronado and Springerville Generating Stations in Arizona.
The JPML Transfer Order moves the case for coordinated pretrial proceedings before Judge Stephen H. Locher in the S.D. Iowa, but does not dismiss or resolve the underlying patent infringement claims. All five patents remain in active dispute. Claim construction and discovery will proceed in Iowa; cases may be remanded for trial after pretrial proceedings conclude.
The six defendants are: Tucson Electric Power Company; Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District; San Carlos Resources Inc.; Springerville Unit 3 Holding LLC; Springerville Unit 3 Partnership LP; and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. All are connected to coal-fired power generation operations in Arizona and the broader Southwest.
Birchtech Corp. is the current operating name of Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. (ME2C). The plaintiff is identified in the JPML Transfer Order notice as ‘Midwest Energy Emissions Corp. (n/k/a Birchtech Corp.),’ indicating a corporate name change occurred during or before the litigation. Birchtech/ME2C holds the five asserted mercury capture patents.
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