Maria Menounos: Gas Station Sued By Competitors For Selling Gas Too Cheaply

Next Fucking Level Price Gouging

Brazen Price Gougers Sue To Get Court Order To Gouge Gas Price!

If you want to get an American into politics, raise the price of gas. Gasoline prices averaged $4.27 per gallon on Friday, March 18th, slightly down from a peak of $4.33 on March 11, according to the American Automobile Association. That price broke the previous record high of $4.10 set in 2008. While the rising price of oil coupled with across the board record inflation bites into the budgets of American families, a local Woodman’s gas station in Waukesha, Wisconsin is being sued by competitors after rival gas stations alleged the Woodman’s gas prices were so cheap that they were illegal.

Gogo Petroleum LLC, which operates a nearby Shell station, and Super Four Corp, the operator of a nearby BP station, said the Woodman’s violated Wisconsin’s Unfair Sales Act, which prohibits selling goods below cost. The suit said Woodman’s — which competitors considered to be a “price leader” in Waukesha’s motor vehicle fuel market — failed to comply with that act for at least 40 of the past 180 days since Sept. 27, 2020, and when the suit was filed in March 2021. The plaintiff’s suit says the state’s Unfair Sales Act requires fuel retailers to mark up fuel to at least 6% above purchase price, and up to 9.18% of the average price of the nearest retailer. Woodman’s not raising the price of gas left the plaintiffs at what they claimed was a “competitive disadvantage.” Each of the two other stations was “forced to keep its motor vehicle fuel price at a higher amount, causing a reduction in customer volume, because customers would choose to shop at Woodman’s or a competitor of Woodman’s which lowered its price to match,” according to the lawsuit.

Each Plaintiff is demanding $80,000, based on the number of days they allege Woodman’s illegally outpriced them. The Woodman’s gas station filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing the lawsuit is without substance. In a motion responding to the suit, Woodman’s defended its actions, asserting that its practices fall under an exception to the Unfair Sales Act, which allows it to reduce the price of its gas to meet a competitor’s price provided it notifies Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Woodman’s argued its prices are comparable to competitor Costco Wholesale in Pewaukee, about six and a half miles away from the Woodman’s. Gogo Petroleum’s Shell gas station sold regular gas for $3.89 while Super Four Corp’s BP station sold regular gas for $3.99. The Woodman’s sells gas at $3.59 for regular gas.

Per the Marquette Law Review, The Wisconsin Unfair Sales Act was enacted in 1939 during the Great Depression to prevent large retailers from selling below cost, an “act of unfair competition” which was seen as one of the primary causes of small business failures. The Act’s ostensible purpose is to protect small retailers from predatory pricing. At the time there was public concern that nosediving prices would allow large companies to choke out small businesses who could not afford to lower their prices. Despite this, the Act has been rarely enforced, only being five reported judicial decisions and eleven Attorney General advisory opinions. Per the Act, selling below cost is not illegal if it is only done to gain business. It becomes illegal when it is done with the intent to injure competitors or destroy competition. The Act presumes the purpose of the below-cost selling is to destroy competition and thereby shifts the burden of proving otherwise onto the Woodman’s. Federal courts have refused to enforce Wisconsin’s minimum markup law on the grounds that it’s unconstitutional. Three different state supreme courts have struck down similar minimum markup laws without any negative effects on consumers or small businesses. While Americans hope for lower gas prices as a small improvement to their daily lives, gas stations are deploying Depression-era laws to prevent exactly that.