Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, STATE UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES—D. Kan.: Settlements in motor fuel sales practices action get preliminary approval, (Oct 28, 2014)
Law Firms Mentioned:Cabaniss Johnston Gardner Dumas & O'Neal | Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris | Deary Montgomery Defeo & Canada LLP | Eimer Stahl LLP | Husch Blackwell LLP | Jones Day | Kummer Kaempger Bonner Rensahw & Ferrario | Latham & Watkins LLP | Moore & Van Allen | Ogloza Fortney LLP | Phillips McFall McCaffrey McVay & Murrah, PC | Rouse Hendricks German May | Scharnhorst Ast Kennard Griffin PC | Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP | Stinson Leonard Street LLP | Walters Bender Strohbehn & Vaughan, PC
Organizations Mentioned:American Fiber & Cabling, LLC | BP Corp. North America, Inc. | BP Corporation North America, Inc. | CITGO Petroleum Corp. | Casey's General Stores, Inc. | Chevron U.S.A., Inc. | Circle K Stores, Inc. | Costco | Ditzfeld Transfer, Inc. | Eimer Stahl, LLP | Heartland Landscape Group LLC | Husch Blackwell, LLP | Jones Day, LLP | Korein Tillery, LLC | Latham & Watkins, LLP | Love's Travel Stops | Moore & Van Allen, PLLC | Ogloza Fortney, LLP | Patrick Exterminating, Inc. | Scharnhorst Ast Kennard Griffin | Shook Hardy & Bacon, LLP | Smith Anderson Blount Dorsett Mitchell & Jernigan | Stinson Leonard Street, LLP | Sunoco, Inc. | Team Trucking | Thorntons Inc.
By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.
Proposed settlements with 18 defendants in a consolidated class action brought by consumers against numerous motor fuel retailers and refiners for allegedly selling motor fuel without disclosing or adjusting for temperature have been given preliminary approval by the federal district court in Kansas City (In re Motor Fuel Temperature Sales Practices Litigation, October 27, 2014, Vratil, K.).
Consumers filed suit against numerous motor fuel retailers and refiners, including Chevron, for selling motor fuel without disclosing or adjusting for temperature, and without disclosing the effect of temperature on motor fuel, in violation of Kansas Consumer Protection Act and the California Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedy Act. In 2007, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL Panel) designated the Kansas court as the transferee court for all of the federal cases. In 2012, the court granted final approval to a class action settlement with Costco and preliminary approval to 11 additional proposed settlements. In July 2013, the court entered summary judgment in favor of Chevron in the California cases.
After the court granted summary judgment in favor of the remaining defendants in the California cases and indicated that the MDL Panel remand all claims to the transferor courts, the plaintiffs entered into 18 new settlement agreements with the following defendants: B-B Oil Company; Chevron U.S.A.; Coulson Oil Company; Diamond State Oil; E-Z Mart Stores; Flash Market; G&M Oil Company; J&P Flash; Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores; M.M. Fowler; Magness Company; Port Cities Oil; Sunoco, Inc.; Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company; Thorntons Inc.; United El Segundo, Inc.; W.R. Hess; and World Oil Corp.
The 18 defendants will pay various amounts into settlement funds which state departments of weights and measures, and other agencies responsible for regulating retail motor fuel dispensers, can use to defray costs of implementing automatic temperature compensation at retail. In addition, the settlement funds will pay plaintiffs’ attorney fees, litigation costs, class notice expenses, and costs of claims administration.
The court determined that the proposed settlements were fair, reasonable, and adequate. The settlements were fairly and honestly negotiated and there were serious questions of law and fact that placed the ultimate outcome of the litigation in doubt. Moreover, the value of an immediate recovery outweighed the possibility of future relief after protracted litigation and the judgment of the parties that the settlements were fair and reasonable weighed in favor of preliminary approval.
The case is No. 07-MD-1840-KHV.
Attorneys: Garrett M. Hodes (Walters Bender Strohbehn & Vaughan, PC) for Zachary Wilson. George A. Zelcs (Korein Tillery, LLC) for American Fiber & Cabling, LLC, Ditzfeld Transfer, Inc., Heartland Landscape Group LLC, and Team Trucking. Craig P. Niedenthal (Cory Watson Crowder & DeGaris), and David Deary (Deary Montgomery Defeo & Canada LLP) for Patrick Exterminating, Inc. Douglas M. Todd (Phillips McFall McCaffrey McVay & Murrah, PC), Jarrod J. White (Cabaniss Johnston Gardner Dumas & O'Neal), and Lisa J. Zastrow (Kummer Kaempger Bonner Rensahw & Ferrario) for BP Corporation North America, Inc. James D. Griffin (Scharnhorst Ast Kennard Griffin PC), and Martin M. Loring (Husch Blackwell LLP) for Casey's General Stores, Inc. Brendan A. McShane (Latham & Watkins LLP), Cynthia H. Cwik (Jones Day), and Darius Ogloza (Ogloza Fortney LLP) for Chevron U.S.A., Inc. A. Bradley Bodamer (Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP), Daniel B. Hodes (Rouse Hendricks German May), and Donald H. Tucker, Jr. (Smith Anderson Blount Dorsett Mitchell & Jernigan) for Circle K Stores, Inc. Ameri Giannotti (Eimer Stahl LLP), David E. Everson, Jr. (Stinson Leonard Street LLP), and Michael J. Byrne (Moore & Van Allen) for CITGO Petroleum Corp.
Companies: American Fiber & Cabling, LLC; Ditzfeld Transfer, Inc.; Heartland Landscape Group LLC; Team Trucking; Patrick Exterminating, Inc.; BP Corporation North America, Inc.; Casey's General Stores, Inc.; Chevron U.S.A., Inc.; Circle K Stores, Inc.; CITGO Petroleum Corp.
Cases: StateUnfairTradePractices KansasNews