The 45-page lawsuit, funded entirely by the station owners, accuses Irving, Texas-based ExxonMobil of taking advantage of its New Jersey franchises through a number of unlawful practices. The lawsuit claims that ExxonMobil has been charging different prices to different Exxon stations for the same quality and grade of motor fuel. Thus, consumers in the same geographic region have been forced to pay different prices for the same gasoline, they say.
The lawsuit also alleges that ExxonMobil's conduct has resulted in the plaintiffs and consuming public having an insufficient supply of available gasoline as prices rise. The lawsuit seeks to prohibit ExxonMobil from engaging in such conduct.
The suit also alleges Exxon has raised the portion of real-estate taxes paid by the operators, added a report by NorthJersey.com.
"ExxonMobil's actions have resulted in an increased financial burden on the families that own and operate more than 100 Exxon stations in New Jersey," said attorney Marc J. Gross, a partner with Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP, Roseland, N.J., who represents the plaintiff station owners. "ExxonMobil has threatened the continued viability of these small businesses with the imposition of unreasonable standards."
For most of these plaintiffs, "their investment in their franchise represents their life savings," Gross said.
Scott Brownfeld, owner of an Exxon station in Lincroft, N.J., for nearly a decade, complained that "ExxonMobil has made things very difficult. It has threatened to sell its New Jersey franchises to jobbers. If that happens, we are afraid our costs will increase. The price we pay is already high enough."
Gross added, "These business owners have taken an extraordinary risk and placed an enormous burden upon themselves in suing ExxonMobil. They are attempting to bring order and accountability to the motor fuel marketplace."
Gross said he believes this lawsuit will have "far-reaching consequences in reducing the price everyone pays for gasoline, if the station owners are successful."
"We need customer support now more than ever," said Ebbie Ashabi, who has owned Exxon stations in Ramsey and Newfoundland, N.J., for more than nine years. "ExxonMobil will undoubtedly assemble significant opposition to our efforts, and we will not be able to afford this fight unless our customers stand behinds us."
Ed Rapke, who has owned Exxon stations in Livingston, N.J., for more than nine years, is concerned. "We are paying for this out of our pockets, while at the same time doing everything we can to keep the price of gasoline as low as possible," he said. "A portion of the purchases made at our stations goes towards our fight against ExxonMobil so we are all treated fairly."
Ashabi said his group's goal plainly. "We want to make the New Jersey gasoline marketplace more consumer friendly by reducing the price everyone pays. We need our customers to be our partners to help us be successful."
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