Damages

At least 30 states will join Enron Corp. shareholders to pursue billions in damages from the company’s former banking partners. A legal brief filed last week in Houston by attorneys general from across the country claims the states’ residents who were Enron shareholders were injured by the company’s bankruptcy.

At least 30 states will join Enron Corp. shareholders to pursue billions in damages from the company’s former banking partners. According to a legal brief filed Monday in Houston by attorneys general from across the country, the states’ residents who were Enron shareholders were injured by the company’s bankruptcy.

A class action lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana is seeking unspecified damages against several oil and natural gas pipeline and production companies, alleging their coastal operations in Louisiana destroyed wetlands and allowed Hurricane Katrina to do more damage to occur than would have otherwise.

With the advent of the hurricane season, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is seeking to beef up its regulations governing the reporting of damages to interstate natural gas pipelines.

ANR said it completed its Hurricane Rita related damage assessment of its West Cameron 167-to-Grand Chenier pipeline segment and related facilities. Due to damages ANR is declaring a force majeure event in this area of its system. ANR continues not to accept any nominations through Grand Chenier. It is pursuing temporary solutions to provide partial service of these facilities in the very near future. ANR said it experienced close to a 66% loss in deliverability on its Gulf system but because it sources significant supplies from the Mid-Continent and Canadian basins it has been able to maintain market deliveries. As a result of damage to its system, ANR has to replace subsea pipe and connections in the South Marsh Island 108 area and it has to repair the measurement and a separation and dehydration plant in the Grand Chenier area. It expects to restore 100% of its throughput by December.

A class action lawsuit seeking treble damages totaling $5.2 billion has been filed by several small gas marketing companies against NiSource subsidiary Columbia Gas Transmission and two affiliates for antitrust violations starting in February 1996 and continuing today involving an alleged gas storage scheme in the Northeast.