The Hunts charged 23 banks with price fixing.

In the latest of the legal actions between the three sons of the late Texas oilman H. L. Hunt and 23 major U.S. banks, two companies controlled by the Hunts filed suit, alleging that the banks conspired to create a price-fixing monopoly in the offshore oil drilling business. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Dallas by Penrod Drilling Co. and Placid Oil Co., charged that the banks’ “monopolistic scheme” was designed to achieve a “managed worldwide supply” of offshore drilling rigs. Earlier in the week, the banks sued the Hunt interests seeking repayment of $1.28 billion in outstanding debts.