Municipal Authority v. PUC - Cmwlth. Court - March 22, 2012
Standing - In order to have standing, a party "must have a direct, immediate, and substantial interest in the subject matter of the controversy." Waddington v. Pennsylvania Pub. Util. Comm’n, 670 A.2d 199, 202 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1995) (emphasis added), appeal denied, 544 Pa. 679, 678 A.2d 368 (1996). "The requirement that an interest be „direct‟ simply means that the person claiming to be aggrieved must show causation of the harm to his interest by the matter of which he complains." Wm. Penn Parking Garage, Inc. v. City of Pittsburgh, 464 Pa. 168, 195, 346 A.2d 269, 282 (1975) (plurality) (emphasis added). The requirement that an interest be "immediate" and not a remote consequence of the matter concerns "the nature of the causal connection between the action complained of and the injury to the person challenging it." Id. at 197, 346 A.2d at 283. The requirement of a "substantial" interest means that the interest must have substance—i.e., there must be some discernible adverse effect to some interest other than the abstract interest of all citizens in having others comply with the law. Id. at 195, 346 A.2d at 282.
