TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida's attorney general's office said the first of two price-fixing cases against Ryan Phillips is "headed towards trial," according to The Northwest Florida Daily News. The civil case, which was filed May 11, 2006, claims that Phillips and two other defendants pressured and intimidated other convenience store owners in Okaloosa County to increase their gas prices. They "attempted to secure agreements with competitors to fix retail gasoline prices," the suit alleges.
The Okaloosa County case is "much further along" than a similar case filed against Phillips in Walton [image-nocss] County in 2007, said the report. That case also alleges that Phillips fixed gasoline prices.
The 2006 case accuses Phillips, president of Fill-Ups Food Stores Inc., of conspiring with Robert Tate of Crestview and John Osburn of Navarre to fix prices. Tate owned Tate Enterprises until he sold it to Phillips in 2005. Osburn leased gasoline tanks for a Crestview station and later went to work for Phillips.
The three "attempted to secure agreements with competitors to fix retail gasoline prices," the lawsuit states, according to the report.
Tate agreed in October 2006 to settle in the case and testify against other defendants. He was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine and was barred from any further activity that would "result in non-competitive pricing anywhere in Florida." Osburn's status remains unclear.
Phillips' lawyer, Gillis Powell, recently repeated that the state has a weak case. "Once we get a trial date we're ready to try it," Powell told the newspaper. He said he has met with lawyers for the state on "a couple of issues" and details of the case are still being worked out.
The main hangup for the AG's office appears to be getting a trial date, said the report.
Sandi Copes, a spokesperson for AG Bill McCollum's office, said Circuit Judge Terry Ketchel must clear calendar space for the trial.
No timetable has been set for the trial to begin.
Since the lawsuit was filed, Phillips has been adding to his c-store/gas station holdings, the Daily News said. McCollum estimated in 2006 that Phillips, a Crestview resident, owned 60 stores. Contacted last week, Phillips told the paper that he now owns 71 stores between Tallahassee and Pensacola.
Phillips declined to comment on the case or to speculate about any future store purchases.
The Walton County case against Phillips alleges that he used threats to force another store owner to fix the price of gasoline at her store so that they matched the prices at his. The alleged coercion continued for three months until the woman's lease was canceled in April 2007, after which Phillips took over ownership, the lawsuit states.
The AG's office filed the case in May 2007. In a news release made public at that time cited by the paper, McCollum accused Phillips of "immoral, oppressive and unscrupulous" behavior. It also accuses Phillips of violating the Florida Antitrust Act and the Florida Deceptive & Unfair Trade Practices Act. Its result was unnecessarily high gasoline prices for consumers, the suit states.
Phillips faces fines of up to $100,000 for each price fixing violation, McCollum said. His business, also named as a defendant, can be fined up to $1 million for each violation. Under the Florida Deceptive & Unfair Trade Practices Act, Phillips and his company face a $10,000 penalty for every violation, the report added.
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