Judge Throws Out Chevron Hot Fuel Cases

SAN RAMON, Calif. -- A federal judge has given the cold shoulder to three "hot fuel" lawsuits against Chevron Corp.

U.S. District Judge Kathryn Vratil granted the oil company summary judgment on three class-action claims that consumers overpaid for fuel that expanded due to temperature, according to a report by the Kansas City Business Journal. Hot fuel refers to the practice of selling gasoline above the industry standard of 60 degrees Fahrenheit without adjusting the volume of a gallon of fuel.

This is the second blow to hot fuel lawsuits in the past year. As CSNews Online previously reported, a federal jury in Kansas City, Kan., ruled in September that selling hot fuel did not violate the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. 7-Eleven Inc., QuikTrip Corp. and Kum & Go LC were the defendants in that case.

These two rulings are among approximately 30 hot fuel lawsuits that were filed nationwide. Several oil companies and convenience store retailers have already agreed to settle multi-state hot fuel cases. Among them were ConocoPhillips Inc., ExxonMobil Corp., Shell Oil Products US, CITGO Petroleum Corp., Valero Energy Corp., and BP plc subsidiaries BP Products North America Inc. and BP West Coast Products LLC.