Alleging

A San Diego County state Superior Court judge has set for trial a class-action lawsuit alleging Sempra Energy and its two California utilities conspired with El Paso Natural Gas Corp. and others to raise wholesale natural gas prices at the California-Arizona border during the energy crisis of 2000-2001. The plaintiffs said that economists estimated there could be $9 billion in potential damages involved.

A San Diego County state Superior Court judge has set for trial a class-action lawsuit alleging Sempra Energy and its two California utilities conspired with El Paso Natural Gas Corp. and others to raise wholesale natural gas prices at the California-Arizona border during the energy crisis of 2000-2001. The plaintiffs said that economists estimated there could be $9 billion in potential damages involved.

A class action lawsuit in a California court in San Diego County alleging a conspiracy among natural gas suppliers in the state and El Paso Corp. has been set for trial Sept. 7, according to one of the law firms bringing the legal action on behalf of residential and business utility customers. The trial will be aimed at Sempra Energy and its two utilities, since the law firm earlier in the year settled with El Paso.

A class action lawsuit in a California court in San Diego County alleging a conspiracy among natural gas suppliers in the state and El Paso Corp. has been set for trial Sept. 7, according to one of the law firms bringing the legal action on behalf of residential and business utility customers. The trial will be aimed at Sempra Energy and its two utilities, since the law firm earlier in the year settled with El Paso.

A class action lawsuit in a California court in San Diego County alleging a conspiracy among natural gas suppliers in the state and El Paso Corp. has been set for trial Sept. 7, according to one of the law firms bringing the legal action on behalf of residential and business utility customers. The trial will be aimed at Sempra Energy and its two utilities, since the law firm earlier in the year settled with El Paso.

A New York-based law firm is suing Merrill Lynch, alleging that its clients — current and former Enron Corp. stockholders — purchased shares in Enron “as a result of misleading research and advice from Merrill Lynch analysts and brokers.”

A New York-based law firm is suing Merrill Lynch, alleging that its clients — current and former Enron Corp. stockholders — purchased shares in Enron “as a result of misleading research and advice from Merrill Lynch analysts and brokers.”

Williams Cos. and Dynegy Corp. responded quickly to stories alleging certain activities that appeared last Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal, with spokesmen for both companies calling the two separate stories misleading. Williams reported it was not being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), noting that a review by the SEC of third quarter results of 2001 found the company did not have to make any financial adjustments. Dynegy, scrutinized for a transaction that was approved by two separate accounting firms, said the Journal had “unfairly mischaracterized the transaction and chose to question its intent.”

Alleging there is evidence that its customers would be overcharged by more than $1.4 billion, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. filed a suit last Tuesday in a state Superior Court in Sacramento asking that the state’s power-buying agency, the Department of Water Resources (DWR), be forced to hold a public hearing to determine if its estimated $13 billion in power purchases are accurate.