LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — On Monday afternoon, a judge ordered a temporary restraining order for Summit Utilities.
The order says that for 14 days, the gas company will not be allowed to disconnect service for customers while the issues get sorted out.
The judge explained that having the gas shut off could lead to irreparable harm and could risk the health and safety of customers.
The order stated customers "may refuse and not make payments on their Summit monthly gas bills," and "Summit may not disconnect any Arkansas customer account until the Parties are before the Court and introduce evidence and argument on whether the [order] should continue."
The lawyer who filed the suit, Scott Poynter, said this will give the attorneys enough time to get in front of a judge to have a hearing about how to move forward with the case.
"This is the relief we were hoping for all Arkansas customers. We look forward to the hearing on Wednesday set by the court to ask the order to continue," said Poynter.
This is a class action lawsuit against Summit Utilities due to the company being accused of "price-gouging" and "substantially over-billing" their customers.
The lawsuit alleges 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."
Summit Utilities put out a statement after the lawsuit was announced:
“Summit does not comment on pending or threatened litigation," the statement said.