BP, other natural gas suppliers face lawsuit claims over alleged profiteering from Winter Storm Uri

BP lawsuit overview: 

• Who: Plaintiffs filed a pair of class action lawsuits against BP and other natural gas suppliers for charging inflated rates prior to Winter Storm Uri. 
• Why: The plaintiffs say that the energy companies charged 100 times, and one day 200 times, the normal rates for natural gas before Winter Storm Uri.
• Where: The Winter Storm Uri lawsuits were filed in federal court in Kansas. 

Two class action lawsuit complaints were filed against BP and other energy companies after those companies allegedly charged rates that were 100 times — and one day 200 times — the normal natural gas rates before Winter Storm Uri.

The energy companies violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act by profiting from a natural disaster, each BP lawsuit claims, and the plaintiffs say they should be refunded for unconscionable charges, interest and attorneys’ fees.

“The damages claimed are those amounts the court determines to be unconscionable, together with the financing costs assessed as a result of those unconscionable charges, with total damages estimated to be in excess of $30 million, with specific amounts to be assessed to the individual defendants based on the charges made by each defendant to the KMGA buying group, which were then allocated to the municipal utilities and, ultimately, to the consumers for payment,” one of the BP natural gas lawsuits says.

Energy company defendants include Southwest Energy, Rockpoint Gas Storage, others

Plaintiffs Russ Mehl, Edmund Gross, Trudy Boyer, Steve Anderson and Gregory Steadman filed the first class action lawsuit against BP and six other energy companies, while PJ Stoneberger, Ralph Stoneberger, Robin Gudde, Wendy Dunkin and Regeana Shelton filed a separate class action against BP and two other companies.

The energy company defendants in the Winter Storm Uri class action lawsuit include BP Energy Co., Southwest Energy, Macquarie Energy, Energy Transfer, Tenaska, MIECO, Rockpoint Gas Storage and CIMA Energy.

BP has faced litigation in the past.

A Florida man dealing with eye problems allegedly caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig spill served as a test case for the hundreds still claiming harm from the disaster.

Were you affected by Winter Storm Uri? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jay F. Fowler, Samuel J. Walenz, Scott C. Nehrbass, Lee M. Smithyman and James P. Zakoura of Foulston Siefkin LLP.

The BP Winter Storm Uri class action lawsuits are Mehl, et al. v. BP Energy Co., et al., Case No. 6:23-cv-01192, and Stoneberger, et al., v. BP Energy Co., et al., Case No. 6:23-cv-01195-DDC-ADM, both in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas.

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