NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Labaton Sucharow & Rudoff LLP is pleased to announce that the Court in In re Natural Gas Commodity Litigation, File No. 03-CV-6186, in the Southern District of New York, has issued a decision certifying a class of futures traders who were harmed by defendants' manipulation of the price of natural gas futures contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2002. Labaton Sucharow is co-lead counsel for plaintiffs in this action. Potential class members will receive notice of their rights through a notice program to be approved by the Court.
Plaintiffs allege that over twenty defendants, among them the largest energy companies in the United States, including El Paso Merchant Energy L.P., Reliant Energy Services Inc., AEP Energy Services, Inc., Aquila Energy Marketing Corp., Dynegy Marketing and Trade, CMS, Coral Energy Resources, LP, Williams Companies, Inc., and E-Prime, Inc., manipulated the price of natural gas by engaging in false reports of the price and volume of their trades to sources that publish indices of natural gas prices, which caused damages to futures traders and others, who rely on the indices for accurate information about the market. In addition, Plaintiffs allege that several of these defendants engaged in wash trading, churning, and other market gaming strategies, which created the illusion of false liquidity in the market, and further manipulated the price of natural gas.
Judge Victor Marrero of the Southern District of New York had previously issued a decision denying defendants' motions to dismiss this action. In its class certification decision, the Court concluded that Plaintiffs had satisfied the requirements for class certification, including the provision of a methodology for proving damages to Plaintiffs and the class. The court's certification of a class for a three-year period is unprecedented in the history of commodity manipulation class actions.
Plaintiffs continue to actively litigate their damages claims through discovery. This decision significantly improves the prospects for obtaining a substantial monetary recovery for those injured by defendants' alleged manipulation of the natural gas futures market.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.