• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

New Jersey Sues Refiners, Gas Station Operators for Violating Pricing Laws

Posted on: Monday, 26 September 2005, 21:00 CDT

By The Philadelphia Inquirer

Sep. 27--In a move sure to please New Jersey drivers frustrated by high gas prices, the state yesterday sued three oil refiners and numerous independent gas-station operators for alleged violations of state pricing laws after Hurricane Katrina.

Amerada Hess Corp., Motiva Enterprises L.L.C., Sunoco Partners L.L.C., and at least nine station operators were accused of violating the State Motor Fuels Act and Consumer Fraud Act.

The alleged violations included changing prices more than once a day, failing to post accurate prices, and failing to provide inspectors access to inventory and pricing records.

Jeffrey Lamm, spokesman for the state's Division of Consumer Affairs, said the violations had been uncovered by state inspectors and state-trained local and county inspectors. Complaints from motorists prompted the inquiries, he said.

"It started just before Labor Day, when we had a sharp overnight increase," he said. "It's tapered off a bit. But after Hurricane Katrina, there was a huge volume of complaints from motorists."

Lamm said the discrepancies between per-gallon cost on signs and at the pump constituted a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act. Revising gas prices at the pump more than once in a 24-hour period constituted a violation of the Motor Fuels Act, he said.

Violations of the 1938 Motor Fuels Act carry penalties of $50 to $200. Fines for the Consumer Fraud Act go up to $10,000.

Bill Dressler, executive director of the New Jersey Gasoline Retailers Association, which represents 2,500 stations in the state, applauded the lawsuit.

"I think this is probably on the right track, to lay the blame where the blame should be put, which is with the major oil companies," he said.

Dressler acknowledged cases of dealers' changing prices more than once a day during a period when wholesale prices were going up several times a day.

A spokesman for Sunoco said the Philadelphia company cooperates with government at all levels during pricing investigations.

"We price our petroleum products competitively and fairly based on the prevailing market," Gerald Davis said.

Jay R. Wilson, vice president of Amerada Hess, declined to comment.

Motiva's offices in Houston were closed yesterday because of Hurricane Rita.

By Harold Brubaker and Jennifer Moroz. Staff writer Tony Gnoffo contributed to this article.

-----

To see more of The Philadelphia Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.philly.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

AHC, RD, SC, SHEL, SUN,

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

More News in this Category