LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A class action lawsuit previously filed against Summit Utilities has been since been dismissed on Tuesday.
The dismissal comes in an effort to allow the Arkansas Public Service Commission to conduct its own investigation.
The lawsuit alleged that Summit Utilities, which has seen continued complaints over the past several weeks, failed to "appropriately provide utility gas service to its customers in Arkansas."
The motion was filed without prejudice, which means that they could refile the class action lawsuit later if they want.
It's been a turbulent time between Summit Utilities and its customers over the past months, as the company has seen both the aforementioned lawsuit and a temporary restraining order.
The restraining order was instated by a judge on March 14, which stated that customers "may refuse and not make payments on their Summit monthly gas bills" until the attorneys can meet before the judge.
This dismissal also comes after Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, who has actively been working on this case, filed a motion last week asking the Public Service Commission to investigate Summit Utilities.
The commission has opened a formal investigation into Summit where they will look into the company's billing practices and natural gas purchasing.
Summit must respond to the accusations and present evidence to the commission on how it operates within the next few weeks.
After the lawsuit dismissal, Summit Utilities in a press release said it's "working hard to address customer concerns so we can provide the service our customers expect of us and we expect of ourselves."
The company claimed call wait times are down and it has added 50 employees to reduce wait times.
“As a regulated utility, Summit does not profit from the cost of natural gas, and the Arkansas Public Service Commission reviews our gas purchasing plans and cost of gas filings annually,” said Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Lizzy Reinholt. “In addition, we know that customers are struggling with high energy costs this winter and expect a significant decrease in the cost of gas when we make our next required cost of gas filing at the end of this month.”