US: BP, Shell want oil price-fixing case tossed

Defendants accused of manipulating the Brent crude oil benchmark have asked as US judge to dismiss the case, say reports.

BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Morgan Stanley filed a motion Monday to dismiss the lawsuit, which claims the companies colluded for 12 years to manipulate oil prices in violation of US antitrust law. The filing argues that there is insufficient evidence to proceed with the case and, further, claims that because the alleged collusion occurred outside the US, federal antitrust law does not have enough reach to justify as US case.

Plaintiffs filed their suit following dawn raids conducted by the European Commission in May of 2013. The EU searched BP, Shell and London-based pricing service Platts regarding suspicions of oil price manipulation,

Plaintiffs in the US case are now seeking class action status, reports say.

Full content: Reuters

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.