In In re: Western States Wholesale Natural Gas Antitrust Litigation, District of Nevada Judge Philip M. Pro denied defendants’ bid for a judgment on the pleadings, ruling that antitrust claims against more than a dozen companies in the Western States Wholesale Natural Gas case, which stems from the 2000-2001 energy crisis, are not barred by the Commodity Exchange Act. The suit, filed by various purchaser plaintiffs, claims that defendant energy companies conspired to engage in anti-competitive activities with the intent to manipulate and artificially increase the price of natural gas for consumers by 1) knowingly delivering false reports concerning trade information to trade indexes; and 2) engaging in wash trades and churning. In their motion for judgment on the pleadings, defendants argued that the federal and state antitrust claims, as well as state unfair-competition claims, are barred by the doctrine of implied antitrust immunity. In denying defendants’ motion, Judge Pro agreed with the plaintiffs’ argument that Commodity Exchange Act does not expressly provide for antitrust immunity because its legislative history shows that Congress did not intend the CEA to oust completely the application of the antitrust laws in the regulated area.
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