Mulberry wins 1st round in lawsuit over natural gas prices

MULBERRY, Kan. (AP) — A judge has ruled that residents of a small city in southeast Kansas may continue a lawsuit against energy company BP disputing a sharp increase in natural gas prices during freezing weather last February. A Crawford County judge on Wednesday dismissed a motion by BP to end the lawsuit. An attorney for the city of Mulberry and its municipal gas customers says the ruling could make it possible for customers to sue any utility under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. Mulberry city government and four named residents allege the multinational oil and gas company gouged them by increasing natural gas prices more than 100 times the normal price during last February’s freeze.