NextEra Energy, the Juno Beach-based parent of Florida Power & Light, is defending or resolving lawsuits on several fronts at once: an $8 million ERISA settlement over its 401(k) plan, a revived securities fraud class action tied to Florida’s “ghost candidate” election scandal, a $9.5 million antitrust settlement over nuclear-industry wages, a stayed class action over Hurricane Irma outages, and a running tally of environmental and regulatory penalties that includes a criminal plea for eagle deaths at company wind farms. What follows is where each of the major NextEra lawsuits stands, what they are about, and what any of it means if you are a customer, an employee, or a shareholder.
The $8 Million 401(k) Settlement
In September 2023, plan participant John Stewart sued NextEra in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging the company breached its ERISA fiduciary duties in running the NextEra Energy, Inc. Employee Retirement Savings Plan.1CourtListener. Stewart v. NextEra Energy Inc. The amended complaint claimed the fiduciaries failed to keep recordkeeping fees in check and misused forfeitures — money left behind by employees who left before fully vesting — instead of applying that money to lower participant costs.2BenefitsPRO. NextEra Energy Agrees to $8M Settlement in 401(k) ERISA Class Action
In August 2025, Judge Aileen M. Cannon let the case proceed, finding the plaintiff had adequately alleged the plan could have obtained comparable recordkeeping at a substantially lower cost.3NAPA Net. NextEra Exits Excessive Fee Forfeiture Suit for $8 Million The parties then reached an $8 million settlement, which the court has preliminarily approved. The class covers roughly 20,000 former employees and all participants in the retirement savings plan between September 25, 2017, and March 17, 2026.4Law360. NextEra Inks $8M Deal in 401(k) Fee Forfeiture Suit
If you are in the class, you do not need to file a claim. Current participants will be paid into their plan accounts automatically; former participants will receive checks at the address on file. Payments are calculated pro-rata by average account balance, and amounts under $25 to former participants will not be sent.5NextEra ERISA Settlement. Frequently Asked Questions Plaintiffs’ counsel is seeking up to 33.3% of the gross settlement. Objections were due by July 6, 2026, and the final approval hearing is set for September 18, 2026, before Judge Cannon in Fort Pierce, Florida.6NextEra ERISA Settlement. Stewart v. NextEra Energy Settlement NextEra denies the allegations.
Securities Fraud and the Florida Election-Interference Scandal
The most consequential litigation against NextEra grew out of reporting in 2020 and 2021 by the Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel, and other outlets describing what plaintiffs later called an election-interference scheme run through FPL and the political consulting firm Matrix LLC. The allegations included covertly funding “ghost” candidates to bleed votes from unfriendly incumbents in the 2020 Florida election cycle, routing money through shell nonprofits, surveilling journalists who wrote critically about the company, and trying to take control of a Jacksonville political news site.7The Guardian. Leaked Documents Reveal US Power Companies Spending Profits to Stop Clean Energy8Miami Herald. FPL Political Nonprofit Scrutiny
The clearest criminal fallout was the conviction of former state senator Frank Artiles in September 2024 on three felony counts for making $44,000 in illegal campaign payments to Alex Rodriguez, a no-party candidate recruited to draw votes from Democratic incumbent Jose Javier Rodriguez in Senate District 37. Artiles received 60 days in jail and five years of probation, stayed pending appeal.9WLRN. Frank Artiles Ghost Candidacy Sentencing Prosecutors suggested the money came from FPL, but the source was never established in court and no FPL or NextEra employees have been charged.10Mother Jones. Frank Artiles Ghost Candidates Scandal Trial Verdict
Jastram v. NextEra Energy
In January 2023, NextEra filed two 8-Ks flagging material risks from potential election-law violations and reputational damage. FPL CEO Eric Silagy departed abruptly around the same time, and reporting soon surfaced an unusual claw-back provision in his severance package. NextEra’s stock fell roughly $7.31 per share, about 8.7%, wiping out around $15 billion in market value.11Robbins LLP. NextEra Energy Inc.
Shareholders, led by the City of Hollywood Police Officers’ Retirement System and the Pembroke Pines Firefighters and Police Officers’ Pension Fund, sued in Jastram v. NextEra Energy, Inc., alleging executives made misleading statements about the company’s business while concealing FPL’s political conduct. The class period runs from December 2, 2021, through February 1, 2023.12Rosen Legal. NextEra Energy Inc.
Judge Cannon dismissed the case in September 2024, finding no specific corrective disclosure. The Eleventh Circuit reversed on November 26, 2025, applying what it called an “enough truth has saturated the market” standard for loss causation. The panel held the combined effect of NextEra’s January 2023 risk disclosures, Silagy’s exit, and the severance claw-back was enough to sustain the fraud claim at the pleading stage.13Sidley Austin. Eleventh Circuit Loosens Loss Causation in High-Profile Election Interference Securities Suit NextEra is asking the full Eleventh Circuit for en banc rehearing, calling the panel’s rule “the nation’s most permissive loss-causation standard.”14Law360. 11th Circ. Asked to Undo ‘Deeply Flawed’ Securities Ruling
The Board Derivative Suit
A separate shareholder derivative action, McKibbin v. Ketchum et al., was filed in September 2023 in the Southern District of Florida against NextEra’s directors and officers. The complaint alleges the board allowed nonprofits to funnel money to ghost candidates, courted public officials with job offers, and spied on journalists, exposing the company to reputational and legal harm.15Bloomberg Law. NextEra Directors, Executives Sued Over Political Misconduct
Nuclear Wage-Fixing Antitrust Case
NextEra is also a defendant in Dorrell et al. v. Constellation Energy Corp. et al., filed in July 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The suit alleges that operators of all 54 commercial nuclear plants in the United States conspired to suppress wages for nuclear operators, engineers, and technicians in violation of the Sherman Act.16Hagens Berman. Nuclear Power Generation Wage Fixing Antitrust Plaintiffs say the scheme dates back to at least 2003 and worked through the Nuclear Human Resources Group, a shared repository of collective bargaining agreements, and consulting firms Accelerant Technologies LLC and Human Resource Consultants, LLC.17Cohen Milstein. Nuclear Power Antitrust Litigation
NextEra Energy Inc., NextEra Energy Resources LLC, and Florida Power & Light Co. are all named. On May 12, 2026, NextEra agreed to pay $9.5 million to settle the claims against it, one of the first defendants to resolve.18Law360. NextEra Cuts $9.5M Deal in Nuclear Power Wage-Fixing Case The settlement is awaiting preliminary approval, and the case continues against 19 other defendant groups.19Bloomberg Tax. NextEra Inks $9.5 Million Deal to Settle Wage Price Fixing Case
Hurricane Irma Outage Class Action
FPL customers sued in 2017 after Hurricane Irma, alleging the utility was “grossly unprepared” — that it failed to carry out storm-hardening plans, replace aging equipment, and clear vegetation, leading to long outages, spoiled goods, and lost business income. A state circuit judge certified the class in March 2023.20Palm Beach Post. FPL Customers Seek Rehearing of Hurricane Irma Outages Case
Then the ground shifted. In 2023 the Florida Legislature gave the Public Service Commission exclusive jurisdiction over disputes about disaster preparedness and response. In May 2024 the Third District Court of Appeal reversed class certification and ordered the case stayed, holding that whether FPL met its obligations had to go to the PSC first. The Florida Supreme Court declined review in late 2024. The lawsuit is not dismissed, but it is on hold.21WMNF. FPL Gets Boost in Fight Over Preventing Power Outages During Hurricane Irma
Environmental and Regulatory Penalties
NextEra’s subsidiaries have paid roughly $31 million in regulatory penalties across 34 enforcement actions since 2000, covering environmental, safety, employment, and energy-market violations.22Good Jobs First Violation Tracker. NextEra Energy Three stand out.
Eagle Deaths at Wind Farms
In April 2022, ESI Energy LLC, a NextEra Energy Resources subsidiary, pleaded guilty to three counts of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. At least 150 bald and golden eagles were killed, 136 by turbine blade strikes, across 50 of ESI’s 154 wind facilities since 2012. ESI had a corporate policy of not applying for the eagle-take permits the law required. The company was fined $1.86 million, ordered to pay $6.2 million in restitution (including $4.6 million to California), and put on five years of probation with an obligation to spend up to $27 million on eagle protection.23U.S. Department of Justice. ESI Energy LLC Sentenced After Pleading Guilty
Falsified Records at Turkey Point
In April 2021, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a Severity Level 3 violation and proposed a $150,000 civil penalty against FPL after an investigation found that mechanics at the Turkey Point nuclear plant had falsified information in work orders and technicians had given inaccurate details about safety-related components. A supervisor and department head were found to have pressured others to conceal the errors. FPL accepted the findings; the NRC concluded public safety was not endangered.24Power Engineering. NRC Fines FPL Over Falsified Maintenance Records at Turkey Point Nuclear Site
Energy Market and Employment Fines
Energy market violations are the largest slice, led by a $25 million FERC penalty in 2009 and a more recent $486,724 FERC fine in 2024. NextEra has also paid more than $2.3 million in employment-related settlements and fines, including wage-and-hour and labor relations cases, and over $100,000 in OSHA workplace safety penalties.22Good Jobs First Violation Tracker. NextEra Energy
FPL Rate Case and the JEA Subpoena
On the regulatory side, the Florida Public Service Commission approved a four-year rate agreement for FPL in November 2025. FPL had asked for $9.8 billion in rate increases but settled with customer groups for roughly $6.9 billion. For 2026, a typical residential customer using 1,000 kWh a month will pay about $2.50 more per month. The Office of Public Counsel and other critics have signaled plans to appeal to the Florida Supreme Court.25Florida Phoenix. PSC Approves Contentious $7 Billion Rate Hike for Florida Power and Light Customers
NextEra has also been subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Jacksonville City Council in connection with the failed privatization of JEA, Jacksonville’s community-owned utility. A City Council investigation described that deal as marked by “greed” and “bad faith,” and JEA’s former CEO and CFO were federally indicted for conspiracy and wire fraud. No NextEra executives have been charged in the JEA matter.26U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Jastram v. NextEra Energy Inc.