MONTROSE, Colo. -- Two independent gasoline dealers in Montrose, Colo., were awarded a total of $1.4 million in damages after a federal district court jury ruled that King Soopers and City Market had illegally sold gasoline below cost, a violation of Colorado's Unfair Practices Act, said The Denver Post.
King Soopers and City Market can no longer give Colorado customers gasoline discounts based on grocery purchases, and while the ruling names only the two chains, it will apply to all grocery and big-box retailers that sell discounted fuel in Colorado, [image-nocss] such as Safeway, Albertsons, Sam's Club, Wal-Mart and Costco, said King Soopers officials and the attorney for the dealers, Parish Oil and Ray Moore Tire & Petroleum.
King Soopers said it will appeal the ruling, which was issued Friday. King Soopers and City Market are owned by Cincinnati-based The Kroger Co.
"We appreciate the jury's verdict, which protects the ability of small gas stations to compete on a fair playing field with large grocery stores and big-box retailers that also sell fuel," said Andrew Shoemaker, the dealers' attorney.
Under the King Soopers program, customers using their Sooper Cards could qualify for a three-cent-a-gallon discount. In addition, if they bought $100 in groceries over a 30-day period, they qualified for an additional seven-cent discount. The three-cent Sooper Card discount is still legal, said King Soopers spokesperson Trail Daugherty. But to comply with the ruling, the chain discontinued the additional seven-cent discount effective at midnight Tuesday, the newspaper reported.
Customers who had bought the qualifying $100 in groceries in October or November and had not yet used the fuel discount will get a certificate for 5% off a grocery purchase, Daugherty added. "It has been a very successful and very popular program with our consumers," he told the paper. "We never had the intent to do anything illegal, and we disagree with the court's decision."
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