SK Energy Americas, Inc. v. Oil Price Information Service, LLC

I. Background

Gasoline Plaintiffs are purchasers of gasoline who have filed a price setting and market manipulation class action in the Northern District of California (“California Action”), alleging that Gasoline Defendants have conspired to inflate artificially prices for gasoline traded on wholesale “spot markets.” SK Energy Americas, ECF Nos. 1-3 ¶ 2; 1-4 ¶¶ 1–10. Gasoline Plaintiffs more particularly contend that the Defendants used an accidental explosion at a refinery in Torrance, California, as an artifice to negotiating large gasoline supply contracts at inflated rates. Id., ECF No. 1-4 ¶¶ 1–10. The Gasoline Defendants purportedly entered into agreements with each other to manipulate prices, share the profits, and disguise each other’s wrongdoing. Id.

OPIS is a private oil and gas price-reporting service headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. Id., ECF No. 1-6. OPIS “holds itself out as ‘the most widely accepted price benchmark’ for supply contracts.” Id., ECF No. 1-4 ¶ 71. OPIS obtains pricing information “directly from market participants,” from which OPIS extracts “spot prices” through aggregating data reported on a daily basis. Id. ¶¶ 71–77. The daily…