Wise

After plaintiffs/appellants instituted this action against Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) for unfair business practices (Bus. & Prof. Code, §§ 17200 et seq., 17500), violation of Public Utilities Code section 2106, and fraud, we applied the primary jurisdiction doctrine and imposed a stay of judicial proceedings in the trial court, pending an ongoing third party proceeding before the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC or Commission) that concerned similar issues, Joanne Carey v. Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

The PUC closed the Carey proceedings without conducting a formal investigation of the conduct challenged by the Carey complainants. PG&E then brought a successful motion for judgment on the pleadings in the instant case on the grounds the trial court had lost subject matter jurisdiction as a result of the PUC decision to close its investigation in Carey. We will conclude the trial court erred in dismissing appellants’ action.

BACKGROUND

I. May 19, 1998 First Amended Complaint

a. Alleged Facts

In their first amended, and operative, complaint, plaintiffs alleged generally:

PG&E is a utility regulated by the PUC that provides gas and…