NorthWestern merger shouldn’t be decided without Brad Molnar, new lawsuit argues

But Molnar, suspended from the PSC after misconduct allegations, was never allowed to properly defend himself, and the lack of due process isn’t fair to the 65,000 voters in his district, said his lawyer, Matthew Monforton.

“Commissioner Molnar and other elected officials in the state are not entitled to more due process than state employees, but they’re not entitled to less, your honor,” Monforton said. “And less is what Brad Molnar got — much less.”

In May 2026 after an investigation into sexual harassment and retaliation allegations, the PSC stopped Molnar from working in the office and asked Gianforte to suspend him. In July, Gianforte issued a one-year suspension.

On Friday in Lewis and Clark County District Court, Monforton said the judge should stop the suspension, but Schowengerdt and a lawyer for the Public Service Commissioners who requested the suspension said Molnar had every opportunity to defend himself but didn’t do it.

“He created the silence of this record, and now asked the court for an injunction because it exists,” Schowengerdt said.

Said Natasha Jones, on behalf of the three commissioners who asked the governor for the suspension: “Commissioner Molnar doesn’t defend himself because he can’t. He just slings mud.”

The case is unfolding at the same time as a significant utility merger before the Public Service Commission, and Monforton said the stakes are especially high.

He said the suspension by the governor on July 9 means the multibillion dollar proposed merger could be decided without the commissioner who participated in the hearing.

“Public interest is served by ensuring that the most consequential regulatory decision in a generation is made by a lawfully constituted commission selected by voters,” Monforton said.

NorthWestern Energy and South Dakota-based Black Hills Corp have proposed a merger in a deal involving eight states, worth $15.4 billion and pending before the PSC.

But Jones told Judge Mike Menahan the agency has been working better since Molnar left.

“The work of the PSC is continuing for the first time uninterrupted by the daily disruptions caused by Commissioner Molnar,” Jones said.

In court, Judge Menahan asked Schowengerdt if the bar to remove Molnar from office should be higher because he is an elected official.

Schowengerdt said an elected constitutional officer could have a higher expectation, but the Montana Legislature set different standards for the Public Service Commission.

In the case of the PSC, the legislature gave the removal power to the governor, and that’s what makes a commissioner’s role different.

Schowengerdt also framed the action by the governor as not against Molnar but for the protection of a different group.

“In many ways, the removal power protects the right of the voters to have an effective PSC,” Schowengerdt said.

In July 2025, Molnar announced he was under investigation for professional misconduct.

He only admitted to being unpolished. Friday, he argued he has been kept in the dark about specific complaints and remains unaware of details.

An investigation report said Molnar was repeatedly warned about his behavior, and Jones said Molnar was informed, and the agency took appropriate action.

“What the PSC did is protect its employees from a boss who claims the rules don’t apply to him and repeatedly retaliated, even when told to stop,” Jones said. “The PSC had a duty — and has a duty still — to protect those employees from continued retaliation, continued harassment, continued abuse.”

Monforton, though, said the judge wasn’t being asked to decide whether the allegations against Molnar were true, but to decide Molnar and those he represents deserve a fair process.

“The legislature made the voters the ultimate boss of the PSC, and it’s the voters … besides Commissioner Molnar, who are getting shortchanged by this unfair process,” Monforton said.

The PSC is made up of five elected commissioners, and with Molnar suspended without pay, just four are on the job.

Gianforte is considering applicants who want to serve in the role temporarily and is taking public comment on applications until Aug. 20

Monforton said Friday the court clerk indicated the judge wants to make a decision in the case before that deadline.

In a separate district court lawsuit filed against the PSC by lawyer Monica Tranel, a group participating in the Northwestern – Black Hills merger argued Molnar must be part of the final decision on the merger since he participated from the start.

“Our position is that Commissioner Molnar’s voice is part of the deliberative process that is absolutely essential to a fair outcome,” Tranel said at a press conference after the court hearing.

Tranel filed the lawsuit this week on behalf of 350 Montana and the Montana Farmers Union, which participated in the merger hearing.

Tranel said Molnar heard the evidence in the merger case, had the chance to cross-examine it, and gauged the credibility of corporate executives who speak out of both sides of their mouths.

Tranel said executives dismiss their interest in building data centers to the public while touting their potential to investors — at a risk to ratepayers.

“That is one of the most profound elements of American jurisprudence,” Tranel said. “You do not interfere with a jury deliberation, and the credibility of the witnesses is absolutely critical here.”

In this case, the deliberation is taking place by commissioners.