City of Moundridge, et al. v. Exxon Mobil Corp., et al.

On September 30, 2009, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia granted the summary judgment motion of Compass Lexecon clients Exxon Mobil, BP America, ConocoPhillips, and Shell. These firms hired Compass Lexecon expert Joseph P. Kalt to assess Plaintiffs’ claims that the Defendants had colluded to fix the price of natural gas sold in North America. Professor Kalt’s analysis found that there was no evidence of market concentration and, more fundamentally, that there was no credible evidence of any parallel or coordinated conduct among the Defendants with respect to supply or pricing decisions. Based in significant part on this analysis, the Court ultimately concluded that Defendants’ behavior simply reflected independent, self-interested conduct and, thus, did not provide any evidence to support an inference of conspiracy. We worked with legal teams representing each of the Defendant companies including counsel at Howrey LLP, White & Case LLP, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.