BP Share News (BP.)

* U.S. judge denies bid to dismiss class action * Case is the second facing traders over 2008 prices By Terry Baynes Dec 21 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Friday refused to dismissa lawsuit accusing Arcadia Petroleum, Parnon Energy and two oiltraders of manipulating the price of oil in 2008. In his order, U.S. District Judge William Pauley of theSouthern District of New York found plausible the lawsuit'sclaims that the defendants tried to fix the physical crude oilmarket to benefit their financial trading positions. The class action, consolidating several lawsuits by otheroil traders, is the second faced by traders James Dyer of ParnonEnergy and Nick Wildgoose of Arcadia and the companies. In April, Pauley denied a motion to dismiss similarallegations by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commissionregulator in one of the largest-ever oil manipulation cases. The lawsuits claim that Dyer and Wildgoose, both of whompreviously worked at BP Plc, amassed large physicalpositions at the key U.S. oil trading hub of Cushing, Oklahoma,to create an impression of tight supplies that would boostprices. Later they dumped those barrels back onto the market,causing prices to crash and racking up profits from shortpositions they had accrued in futures markets, the suit said. In denying the defendants' motion to dismiss the suit, thejudge found the allegations "neither bare nor conclusory." "Plaintiffs' alleged injury - losses from transacting in amarket tainted by price manipulation - is of the type antitrustlaws were intended to prevent," he wrote. Timothy Carey, a lawyer for the defendants, did notimmediately respond to a request for comment. He argued at acourt hearing in October that plaintiffs failed to make theirclaim that the traders intended to monopolize the crude oilfutures market at Cushing. Arcadia and Parnon are owned by Norwegian billionaire JohnFredriksen. Fredriksen has said the U.S. lawsuit against his oiltrading companies may be a bid to extract revenge for BP's giantGulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010, by targeting the former BPtraders. Arcadia has argued the traders never held enough oil toinfluence global prices. The case is In re: Crude oil commodities futures litigationin U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York,No. 11- 03679.