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The agreement now pending before a Knox County Chancellor totals $57,000 and will allow consumers to claim refunds from the Division of Consumer Affairs.
The agreement resolves the state's allegations that Weigel's unlawfully raised prices for regular, midgrade and premium unleaded gasoline at 33 locations from Sept. 12 until Sept. 18, 2008. The state alleged that the defendant unlawfully raised prices to $3.94-$5.00 for regular unleaded, to $3.91-$5.10 for midgrade unleaded and to $4.13-$5.23 for premium unleaded gasoline.
"Although it continues to believe that its actions during that period were taken properly in an effort to insure that most of its customers could continue to find gasoline at its stores, Weigel's has now determined that neither the company nor its customers are well served by continuing this expensive, time-consuming and distracting litigation," the company said in a statement.
It added, "As expressly set forth in the terms of the recent settlement order, there has been no finding or admission of wrongdoing on Weigel's part. Weigel's continues to deny all charges of wrongdoing, including that Weigel's at any time overcharged its customers for gasoline following the disruption and shortages occasioned by Hurricane Ike. Pursuant to the settlement, Weigel's will make a payment to the state which is well below Weigel's costs of continuing to litigate the matter, and the settlement order specifically provides that Weigel's has agreed to the settlement only to avoid the expense of continued litigation. The settlement places no special conditions upon Weigel's conduct of future business, and preserves all of Weigel's defenses should claims occur."
Bill Weigel, chairman of Weigel Stores, said, "We continue to maintain that we operated our business appropriately in the difficult circumstances and market disruptions caused by Hurricane Ike. On some days the company was paying more to buy gas than it was selling it for at the pumps. The terms of the settlement proposed to us last year implied that Weigel's admitted to violating the law. The settlement reached now does not carry that implication, and is on such terms, economic and otherwise, that from a business standpoint, it is in the best interests of the company and our customers that we put the matter behind us."
"Weigel's has been a proud part of the Knoxville community for more than 75 years. We are pleased to reach a resolution that preserves the integrity and solid reputation of our company and look forward to continuing to serve and grow with this community," Weigel said.
The agreement amounts to the largest gasoline pricing enforcement action against a single retailer in the state's history, Cooper said. If signed by a judge, the settlement concludes the state's Hurricane Ike gasoline pricing enforcement sweep. Last April, the AG resolved similar allegations with 16 companies and individuals, involving 27 retail stations in Tennessee.
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Anyone who purchased gasoline from a Weigel's retail store covered by the First Amended Complaint during the dates and times referenced in the First Amended Complaint is eligible to receive restitution. Consumers are asked to fill in as much information as possible on the state's online price gouging form by June 28.
Click here to view the full Agreed Final Order.
Weigel's operates nearly 50 dairy and convenience stores, all within a 50-mile radius of corporate headquarters in Powell, Tenn.
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