AmeriGas Agrees to Price-Gouging Class Action Settlement

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Homeowners in Michigan who faced rising propane bills during the 2013-2014 winter, one of the worst in the state’s history, may benefit if they are current or former AmeriGas customers, following the company’s recent price-gouging class action settlement with the state’s attorney general.

Following an investigation with the propane supplier’s cooperation, Attorney General Bill Schuette negotiated a comprehensive class action settlement agreement that, with winter approaching, could make a serious difference. Some of the benefits Michigan residents will receive include:

1) Credits on their upcoming bills or checks amounting to the difference between the market rate of propane over the course of several periods during January and February 2013 plus an additional 50 percent;

2) Credits or checks for any differences between the prices AmeriGas customers were quoted and the actual prices they paid upon delivery;

3) Credits or checks for any differences between the price guaranteed under any fixed-price program and the price customers paid; and

4) Free access to a fixed-price delivery program that allows them to lock in a rate for propane until May 2015 at a rate that will be set lower than the average expected price.

AmeriGas admits no wrongdoing regarding the alleged price gouging, however, the settlement resolving the AmeriGas class action lawsuit still provides consumers the rights to bring their own claims against the supplier, leaving a potential liability not often found in similar agreements.

Throughout the AmeriGas class action settlement agreement, Schuette notes that many of the stipulations are the result of “further recognition of impact of the price of propane on its customers, especially due to the extreme and unprecedented conditions of the last winter.”

The investigation noted that the factors resulting in the significant hardships for many of the customers included “a record corn harvest that was wetter and later than normal, an unusually cold and early winter, record propane exports that reduced domestic propane inventories, and a shutdown of the Cochin Pipeline[.]”

The Corporate Oversight Division of the Office of the Attorney General is also investigating other propane and natural gas suppliers as to whether or not they violated the Michigan Consumer Protection Act during the winter of 2013-2014. Some of the results of those are still pending. AmeriGas may still face criminal chargers for any alleged violations.

Michigan is represented by Attorney General Bill Schuette.

The AmeriGas Price Gouging Class Action Lawsuit is People of the State of Michigan v. AmeriGas Partners LP, et al., Case No. 14-0248-CP, in the Circuit Court for the Second Judicial Circuit, Berrien County, State of Michigan.