Natural Gas Litigatino

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did I receive the notice from the Claims Administrator for the Natural Gas Anti-Trust Cases -- Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?
Do I need to file a Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation if I filed a claim in the El Paso Litigation?
How do I know if I am a member of the Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass?
I received a notice. Does that mean I am a Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass member?
How do I know if I must file a Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?
What will happen if I do not file a Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?
When must I file the Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?
How do I file a Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?
Where do I send the Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?
Our company is a California Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass member. Should we or our parent company file the Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?

1. Why did I receive the notice from the Claims Administrator for the Natural Gas Anti-Trust Cases -- Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?

Most, if not all, of the members of the Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass in the Natural Gas Antitrust Cases I - IV have previously filed a Proof of Claim Form in the El Paso Settlement. The Sempra - Pipeline Litigation Claims Administrator will use those previously filed Proof of Claim Forms to determine the amount of a claimant's award in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation. Only those members of the Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass that did not file a Proof of Claim Form in the El Paso Settlement must file a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation. The Claims Administrator wants to determine the number of claimants that will file a Proof of Claim Form in order to ease processing in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation, and to gauge the potential size of those claimants' loss.

2. Do I need to file a Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation if I filed a claim in the El Paso Litigation?

No. If you filed a claim in the El Paso Litigation, you do not need to do anything in order to receive an award. The Sempra - Pipeline Litigation Claims Administrator will use your previously filed Proof of Claim Form to determine the amount of your award in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation.

3. How do I know if I am a member of the Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass?

The definition of the class and the Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass are in the notice you received. The notice states as follows:

The Settlement Class is defined as follows:
All individuals and entities in California that purchased natural gas and/or electricity for use and not for resale or generation of electricity for the purpose of resale, between September 1, 1996 and January 4, 2006, inclusive. Excluded from the Class are Defendants, Defendants' predecessors, affiliates, subsidiaries, officers and directors, any and all judges and justices assigned to hear any aspect of this litigation, along with their spouses and any minor children residing in their households, and any persons within the third degree of relationship of any judge or justice assigned to hear any aspect of this litigation.
If you or your business or entity paid a gas or electric bill to a California utility during this time period, you and/or your business are members of the Settlement Class. In addition, the Settlement Class includes large businesses classified as "non-core" customers of one of California's natural gas utilities (described more fully below), or who otherwise purchased natural gas pursuant to contract during this time period.

The court also approved a Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass:
The Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass is an Existing Subclass and includes all non-core public utility customers of the SoCalGas, SDG&E, Sempra and PG&E in California who, for the period July 1, 2000 to July 31, 2001: (i) purchased natural gas supplies in the Southern California border market; (ii) purchased gas supplies under price formulas that incorporate, in whole or in part, published index prices for natural gas supplies a the Southern California border; or (iii) purchased natural gas supplies in California (including at point where gas is received into the SoCalGas or PG&E systems, or in the PG&E city-gate market where gas is delivered from PG&E's main pipelines into its local transmission and distribution pipelines) at prices determined by or linked to published index prices for natural gas supplies at the Southern California border. Excluded from the class are marketers of natural gas and purchasers of natural gas for generation of electricity for the sole purpose of resale.

Non-core customers who purchased gas from a third party supplier instead of a utility are members of this subclass, even if they paid the utility a transportation charge to deliver the gas to their facilities. Non-Core customers who elected to purchase gas from a utility are called "core subscription" or "core elect" customers, and are members of the Core Natural Gas Subclass, not the Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass. Non-Core customers who purchased gas from a third party during part of the relevant time period and who were "core subscription" or "core elect" customers of a utility during part of the relevant time period are members of both the Core Natural Gas Subclass and the Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass. If you are a member of the Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass, you should have received a copy of this notice by mail.

4. I received a notice. Does that mean I am a Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass member?

You are not a member of the Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass simply because you received this notice by mail. You must fall within the above definition to be a California Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass member.

5. How do I know if I must file a Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?

You must file a Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form only if you are a Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass member and you did not file a Proof of Claim Form in the El Paso Litigation. Members of the California Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass that did not file a Proof of Claim Form in the El Paso Settlement but want to participate in the Sempra - Pipeline Settlement must submit a Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Settlement. Members of the Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass that were considered affiliates for financial reporting purposes during the class period will be required to aggregate their claims with those of any parent company and of all affiliated companies/subsidiaries. The parent company must timely file the Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form on behalf of itself and all affiliates/subsidiaries.

6. What will happen if I do not file a Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?

If you do not timely file a Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form, you will be deemed to have waived your right to file a Proof of Claim Form and you will not participate in the Sempra - Pipeline Settlement.

7. When must I file the Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?

You must file the Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form postmarked no later than February 21, 2007.

8. How do I file a Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?

You should send a letter to the Claims Administrator that contains clear statement that you intend to file a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra – Pipeline Settlement when you are notified you should do so. The Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form must contain the name and number of the Sempra – Pipeline Settlement case (Natural Gas Anti-trust Cases I, II, III, & IV; J.C.C.P. Nos. 4221, 4224, 4226 and 4228), the name and address of the parent company and a list of all affiliates/subsidiaries, and the email address of the person with whom the Claims Administrator should communicate.

9. Where do I send the Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?

You must mail the Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form to:

Natural Gas Anti-Trust Cases -- Sempra - Pipeline Litigation
Claims Administrator
P.O. Box 3207
Portland OR 97208-3207

10. Our company is a California Non-Core Natural Gas Subclass member. Should we or our parent company file the Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form in the Sempra - Pipeline Litigation?

If your financial statements were required to be consolidated on the financial statements of your parent company during the class period between July 1, 2000 and July 31, 2001, inclusive, the parent company must file the Notice of Intent to File a Proof of Claim Form on your company's behalf, and on behalf of itself and all subsidiaries/affiliates that purchased natural gas and/or electricity for use and not for resale or generation of electricity for the purpose of resale.