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A California appeals court has ruled that Chevron must face a class action lawsuit alleging unfair business practices by customers who say it buys gasoline at one temperature and sells it at another, resulting in customers getting less gas than they paid for.
According to the Chevron gas class action lawsuit, Chevron bought wholesale gasoline at 60 degrees Fahrenheit and sold it to California consumers at 70 degrees. This is an unfair business practice, the class action lawsuit says, because at higher temperatures a gallon of gasoline contains less fuel than a gallon at lower temperatures. This means consumers are not getting all the gas they’re paying for.
The Chevron class action lawsuit also claims the company paid an unfairly low tax rate due to the temperature difference and that consumers are unable to make fair price comparisons between retailers.
Chevron attempted to have the class action lawsuit thrown out on the argument that the practice was allowed under California law. The trial court agreed with Chevron and dismissed the class action lawsuit’s claims of breach of contract, unjust enrichment and unlawful business practices. Claims of unfair and fraudulent business practices and violation of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act remained.
Chevron then asked the court to drop the remaining claims based on a California Energy Commission report that found “Automatic Temperature Compensation” fuel-pump technology would not lead to economic benefits for consumers.
The trial court agreed with Chevron again, ruling that the Legislature was dealing with the problem the plaintiffs addressed in the class action lawsuit.
The Plaintiffs in the Chevron gas temperature class action lawsuit appealed the court’s decision, and the state’s Second Appellate District agreed that they still had a case against Chevron.
“The Legislature has not provided any alternative means of addressing the issues in plaintiffs’ claims, nor has it provided any certainty that it will address those issues in the future,” Justice Laurie Zelon wrote for the court.
The case is Allen Ray Klein v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., et al., Case No. BC367812.
UPDATE: On Oct. 27, 2014, a federal judge approved 14 of 18 “hot fuel” class action settlements, including Chevron’s $2.1 million settlement.
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UPDATE: On Oct. 27, 2014, a federal judge approved 14 of 18 “hot fuel” class action settlements, including Chevron’s $2.1 million settlement.
I use a wheelchair and I pump my own gas. I have to obtain gasoline at the pump closest to the entrance and I pay inside so I can purchase gas at the self-serve price. Chevron has a full serve pump in Malibu closest to the entrance. On a trip to Oxnard I pulled in to purchase gas and was approached by an attendant who offered full service. I told him I was there for gas only not full serve. I went in to use my card and request the self-serve price according to the DOJ.
The cashier told me if I wanted gas at the self-serve price to go to another pump. I left without gas and drove to another station and purchased a full tank in which I have the receipt and photos of where I was parked at a full serve pump. This practice of denial at a full serve pump for gas only is a violation of the ADA and this problem is harmful.