Murphy Premium Gas Mixed With Some Lower-Grade Fuel, Class Action Says
Watson v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc.
Filed: June 16, 2023 ◆§ 2:23-cv-00036
A class action claims consumers who paid for premium fuel at Murphy Oil USA gas stations have been overcharged since the first gallon of gas pumped into their cars often contains a substantial amount of lower-grade fuel.
A proposed class action claims consumers who paid for premium fuel at Murphy Oil USA gas stations have been overcharged since the first gallon of gas pumped into their cars often contains a substantial amount of lower-grade fuel.
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The 19-page lawsuit says that when a consumer buys premium fuel from the same single-nozzle dispenser from which the prior Murphy customer filled their car with mid-grade or regular gas, about a third of a gallon of the lower-grade fuel is pumped into the premium customer’s tank.
As a result, Murphy customers who buy premium fuel end up paying a higher price despite the fact that their first gallon contains a significant amount of cheaper regular or mid-grade fuel, the suit alleges.
As of May 2022, the price of premium fuel exceeded that of lower grades by an average of 75 cents per gallon, the case relays. According to the complaint, Murphy owns and operates more than 1,700 gas stations across 27 states and has known for years that premium buyers are paying for a not insignificant amount of lower-grade gas.
“Murphy is aware that it overcharges Premium Customers … whenever they fill their cars at Murphy gas stations when the prior customer that used the same single-nozzle fuel dispensing system filled his or her car with lower-grade motor fuel. Murphy could easily refund Premium Customers the difference between what they paid for and what they received in return. No federal, state, or local statute or regulation, including the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act prevents Murphy from doing so. Murphy has made a business decision to retain the overcharge as a profit as opposed to refunding the same to Premium Customers.”
As the complaint tells it, the plaintiff, a Tennessee resident and owner of a car that requires premium fuel, filled up his tank at a Murphy gas station where premium and regular gas were advertised at $3.779 and $3.079 per gallon, respectively. The man claims that he used the same single-nozzle dispenser as a customer who had pumped regular fuel immediately before.
The filing alleges that the dispenser nozzle contained a residual amount of lower-grade fuel, which became part of the first gallon of gas pumped into the plaintiff’s vehicle.
The plaintiff was charged $61.15 for 16.182 gallons of what the defendant represented to be premium fuel, the case claims. However, the complaint contests that the man should have paid less because the first gallon contained a substantial amount of lower-grade gas.
The lawsuit looks to represent consumers in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah or Virginia who purchased premium motor fuel from a Murphy gas station with a credit or debit card and used a single-nozzle fuel dispensing system which the prior customer had used to purchase regular or mid-grade motor fuel.
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