Baker, Burton and Lundy Achieves $1.7 Billion Settlement for California Consumers

Baker, Burton & Lundy was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to participate in one of the largest lawsuits in California's history.  In 2000, B,B&L put together a team at the request of Denver attorney, LANCE ASTRELLA, to bring an antitrust case against three major pipeline companies, Southern California Gas Company, San Diego Gas & Electric, and El Paso Natural Gas as well as their parent companies Sempra Energy and El Paso Corporation.

These three companies had their top executives meet secretly without their attorneys in a Phoenix hotel in 1996 and agree to start cooperating with each other instead of competing against each other.  This was the beginning of an era of non-competition that was a major contributor to the energy crisis of 2000-2001.

To date one of the defendants in the lawsuit, El Paso, has settled for $1.7 Billion.  The settlement is not only the largest antitrust settlement in California history (possibly the largest California case ever) but it is also the most efficient settlement ever in terms of administrative costs borne by the consumers.  The administrative costs are zero.

Almost everyone in California benefited.  Our litigation team represented all of the natural gas users in the PG&E, SoCalGas, and SDG&E service territories both core (household and business users) and non-core (heavy industrial users).  We also represented the electric users in the PG&E, Southern California Edison, and SDG&E service territories both bundled (household and business users) and direct access (heavy industrial users).   Our group of attorneys also recovered monies for the Long Beach core natural gas users as well as the City of Long Beach.  In addition our group recovered monies for the City of Los Angeles (LADWP).  Lastly, we collected money through a Nevada action for ratepayers of Southern Nevada and users of natural gas in the Southwest Gas service territory.

Baker, Burton & Lundy has been instrumental in coordinating and overseeing the case and working hand in hand with some of the finest attorneys in California.  It has been a very interesting journey, which has not yet finished.  Our team just won four major victories staving off the defendants' attempts to have the case thrown out of the California court system.  The defendants, SoCalGas and SDG&E along with their parent company Sempra Energy Corp., now face trial.  We will try to keep you posted as major developments occur.