Colonial Pipeline Rejects Responsibility for Hack’s Gas Pump Hit

Colonial Pipeline Co. isn’t responsible for a ransomware attack’s ripple effects on consumers who saw higher prices at gas pumps, the company argued in a federal court filing.

Colonial doesn’t sell directly to the people who sued over the hack and it doesn’t set the price for the oil it transports, according to its brief filed Sept. 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

In May, a ransomware attack against the pipeline interrupted the U.S. East Coast’s supply of gasoline, driving up prices and setting off shortages at pumping stations.

The proposed class action alleges ...