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LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - London's Competition Appeal Tribunal on Friday dismissed mass lawsuits brought against six British water companies for allegedly under-reporting sewage discharges and overcharging millions of customers.
The utilities companies, including Britain's largest water provider Thames Water, were accused of misleading industry regulator Ofwat about the number of pollution incidents, which meant they were able to charge higher prices to customers.
But the six companies – which also include Anglian Water, Northumbrian Water, Severn Trent, United Utilities and Yorkshire Water – argued the cases should be thrown out at a hearing in September.
The tribunal said in a written ruling on Friday that the cases were excluded by the effect of the Water Industry Act 1991, but that they would have approved the cases otherwise. (Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by William James)
