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A federal District of Columbia court recently ruled that a fuel surcharge-fixing class-action suit filed by a group of rail shippers against four Class Is can proceed.

The suit claims that BNSF Railway Co., CSX Corp., Norfolk Southern Corp. and Union Pacific Railroad colluded to set and wrongfully inflate fuel surcharges between mid-2003 and mid-2007.

The four Class Is — which believe the allegations have no merit — had sought to dismiss the case. But the court found the case supported a “plausible interference” of certain anti-trust laws.

The railroads could face billions of dollars in damages, according to class-action suit co-lead counsel Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges L.L.P.

The Class Is now have 15 days to provide the plaintiffs with evidence previously submitted to a New Jersey grand jury.