SAN DIEGO, April 4 LAWFUEL — A proposed class action
settlement between plaintiffs representing California business and
residential consumers of natural gas (“Plaintiffs”) and defendants Reliant Energy Services, Duke Energy Trading and Marketing LLC, CMS Energy Resources, Aquila Merchant Services and their respective affiliates is
pending in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San
Diego. The class action is entitled Natural Gas Antitrust Cases I-IV, Price Indexing Cases, JCCP No. 4221, et al.
Consumers can find out more information about the Settlement and their legal rights by visiting the informational web site that has been
established at http://www.PriceIndexingSettlements.com, or by calling
1-800-420-2914.
The Proposed Settlement includes all individuals and businesses in
California who purchased natural gas for use (and excluding purchases they may have made for resale or to generate electricity for resale) at any time from January 1, 1999 through December 31, 2002 (the “Class Period”). If you or your business paid a gas bill to a California utility (a “ratepayer”),
were a “non-core” gas customer of a California gas utility (generally large industrial users) during this time period, or otherwise bought gas for your use, you and/or your business are members of the settlement class.
The lawsuit alleges that defendants caused the price of natural gas to increase by conducting prearranged “wash trades” (the contemporaneous
purchase and sale of the same amount of natural gas at the same price) and by reporting false price and volume information to trade publications that compile natural gas price indices, in violation of California antitrust and unfair competition laws, and that California business and residential
consumers paid more for natural gas as a result. Defendants deny these
allegations.
The benefits of the settlement will be passed through to California
natural gas ratepayers in the form of rate reductions, credits, and/or
rebates, subject to the approval of the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC). If the settlement is approved, “non-core” gas customers will be invited to submit claims for their share of the settlement, based
on a formula. The two groups of class members will share the benefits of
the settlement in approximately the following percentages: natural gas
ratepayers — 44.3%; non-core gas customers — 55.7%.
Class Members who do not wish to be included in the Settlement Class or bound by the terms of the settlement must exclude themselves in writing on or before May 18, 2007. Complete information on how Class Members can
opt-out of the Proposed Settlement is available at
http://www.PriceIndexingSettlements.com.
The Court has scheduled a Fairness Hearing for June 12, 2007 at 8:15
am, in the courtroom of the Honorable Ronald S. Prager, Judge of the San
Diego County Superior Court, Department 71, located at 330 W. Broadway, San Diego, California 92101, to determine whether the Settlement is fair,
adequate, and reasonable and should be given final approval.
CONTACT: Kristen Stallings for Price Indexing Settlements,
+1-202-379-1161
