Court Grants Preliminary Approval to 28 Class Action Settlements Concerning How Gasoline and Diesel Motor Fuel are Sold at Retail Gas Stations

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firms of Horn Aylward & Bandy, LLC, Walters Bender Strohbehn & Vaughan, P.C., Korein Tillery LLC, and Girardi & Keese announce that a federal district court in Kansas overseeing a multidistrict litigation proceeding (MDL No. 1840) has given preliminary approval to settlements with 28 different defendants in a consumer class action lawsuit concerning how gasoline and diesel motor fuel are sold at retail gas stations. The settlements may affect the rights of any person who bought motor fuel on or after January 1, 2001.

The settling defendants are B-B Oil Company, Inc.; BP Products North America Inc. and BP West Coast Products LLC (together, "BP"); Casey's General Stores, Inc.; Chevron U.S.A. Inc. ("CUSA"); CITGO Petroleum Corporation; ConocoPhillips Company; Coulson Oil Company, Inc.; Dansk Investment Group, Inc. (f/k/a USA Petroleum Corporation); Diamond State Oil, LLC; ExxonMobil Corporation, Esso Virgin Islands, Inc., and Mobil Oil Guam, Inc. (together, "ExxonMobil"); E-Z Mart Stores, Inc.; Flash Market, Inc.; G&M Oil Company, Inc., and G&M Oil Co., LLC (together, "G&M"); J&P Flash, Inc.; Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc.; Magness Oil Company; M. M. Fowler, Inc.; Port Cities Oil, LLC; Sam's Club; Motiva Enterprises LLC and Equilon Enterprises LLC d/b/a Shell Oil Products US ("Shell"); Sinclair Oil Corporation; Sunoco, Inc. (R&M); Tesoro Refining & Marketing Company, LLC; Thorntons Inc.; United El Segundo, Inc.; Valero Marketing and Supply Company; World Oil Corp.; and W.R. Hess.

The settlements cover persons and entities who purchased motor fuel after January 1, 2001 (for 24 settlements), or after January 1, 2004 (for 4 settlements), in the following states and jurisdictions: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, DC., Guam, and the Virgin Islands. There is a separate proposed settlement for each company, and each settlement may not cover all of the states and jurisdictions.

Under the settlements with 6 of the companies (BP, CUSA, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Sinclair), the companies will collectively pay $22.925 million into funds (i) to reimburse retailers for the costs of installing equipment that corrects for the effects of temperature on motor fuel, and (ii) to help state officials who oversee the retail sale of motor fuel make sure that any changes in how motor fuel is sold are done lawfully. Settlements with 18 companies, which total $1,577,500, fund only the second activity. A portion of the settlement funds may be used to cover costs, including the costs of providing notice to class members, and legal fees. The other 4 settling companies (Casey's, Dansk, Sam's Club, and Valero) have agreed to gradually convert a portion of their existing and new stations, where permitted by state law, to fuel pumps that can adjust for the effects of temperature.

The proposed settlements provide no money directly to consumers who have purchased retail motor fuel. The court has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, June 9, 2015, at 9:30 a.m., to determine whether to give final approval to the settlements.

For more information about the settlements – including instructions about how to exclude yourself from one or more of the settlements and preserve your right to sue the settling defendants on your own, and how to object to the settlement(s) – visit www.HotFuelSettlements.com or call 1-888-384-7228. You can also contact the notice administrator by writing to Hot Fuel Settlements, c/o Dahl Administration, PO Box 3614, Minneapolis, MN 55403-0614.

CONTACT: Robert A. Horn, Horn, Aylward & Bandy, LLC, (816) 421-0700

SOURCE Horn, Aylward & Bandy, LLC