The People of the State of California v. Vitol Inc., et al. and In re: California Gasoline Spot Market Antitrust Litigation
Analysis Group was retained on behalf of international energy trading companies SK Energy and Vitol in two related gasoline price–fixing litigations – one filed by the California State Attorney General, the other by a class of consumers. In both matters, the plaintiffs claimed that traders at the two companies colluded to artificially inflate a benchmark price for wholesale gasoline blendstocks in California following an accident at a major California oil refinery. Traders at SK Energy and Vitol allegedly entered into joint ventures to coordinate trades and act as each other’s counterparties in a series of transactions. The plaintiffs further claimed that the alleged inflation of the benchmark price was passed through to retail consumers of gasoline in California, causing consumers to overpay for fuel purchased in the aftermath of the accident.
An Analysis Group team led by Managing Principal Andrea Okie and Vice Presidents Ishita Rajani and Charles Wu supported three affiliates, each of whom filed four expert reports:
- Christopher Knittel analyzed the California gasoline industry and evaluated the plausibility of the plaintiffs’ antitrust claims.
- Jeffrey Harris analyzed the two companies’ trading activity against an objective framework for evaluating alleged trade-based market manipulation.
- Catherine Tucker assessed class certification issues and the reasonableness of the plaintiffs’ pass-through and damages analyses.
After years of investigation and litigation, both matters settled favorably for SK Energy and Vitol before going to trial.