MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Three gas stations are giving $5,350 to charity to settle lawsuits in which Attorney General Troy King accused them of price gouging after Hurricane Katrina, said the Associated Press.
The stations, which admitted no wrongdoing, are paying the money to the Salvation Army or the Red Cross.
I promised consumers answers about whether gas stations were illegally profiteering, and we have sent a warning that price gouging will not be tolerated, King said.
Alabama's law against price gouging [image-nocss] only applies when the governor has declared a state of emergency, which happened when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast on August 29.
As reported in CSP Daily News, King filed suits in January against four stations. One suit against Cannon Oil Co. in Monroeville was dismissed after the AG determined the station sold no gasoline at the higher price.
The other three stations and the amounts of the settlements are:
Cannon Kwik Stop, Montgomery, operated by Cannon Oil Co. of Dothan, $1,300. Stop-N-Go Express, Montgomery, operated by American Grocers, $1,300. Bud's No. 13, Decatur, operated by Petroleum Sales Inc., $2,750.King said the settlements greatly exceeded the profits. For instance, Stop-N-Go earned $65.72.
Stratton Orr, president of Petroleum Sales, said concerning any admission of wrongdoing by the stations: If they had tried to insist on that, then we wouldn't have agreed to settle.
King alleged Bud's No. 13 increased gasoline prices by 70 cents per gallon on September 4-5 even though it had received no new gasoline shipments since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.
Orr said rationing and the fear of pumps running dry, not greed, prompted the price increase.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.