A 2002 prediction from the Third Circuit that Pennsylvania courts would bar contract actions from being brought under statutory fraud claims because of the economic loss doctrine is no longer valid, a federal district judge has ruled.

Although the Pennsylvania Supreme Court hasn't spoken directly on the question, lower state courts have ruled differently than the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit had predicted, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in his opinion rejecting an energy company's motion to dismiss a potential class action alleging that it lured customers to switch their energy supplier with low initial rates, but ended up charging significantly more than local suppliers.

The suit includes a claim brought under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, the UTPCPL.