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US: Energy price-fixing case reaches top court

By  |  July 1, 2014

The US Supreme Court has reportedly agreed to hear an antitrust case that examines whether companies can be sued under state antitrust law for manipulating energy prices.

According to reports, the Court announced Tuesday it has agreed to hear an appeal filed by various natural gas traders looking to fight an earlier reversal of a decision that found federal antitrust law precludes state claims.

The original suit was filed more than a decade ago, reports say, following the California energy crisis. American Electric Power, Duke Energy and other gas firms are accused of illegally manipulating energy prices by falsely reporting figures to industry trade publications that, in turn, lead to higher gas prices.

A federal district court had sided with the gas firms, but the 9th US Circuit Court reversed the decision to allow retailer purchasers of natural gas to continue their lawsuit.

Full content: Star Tribune

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