Nationwide Class Action Filed by Franchisees of BP, ARCO, and am/pm Against BP and Retalix

LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The law firms of SeegerWeiss LLP and Lee Tran & Liang, APLC announce that they jointly filed a class action lawsuit today in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of owners of BP and ARCO gas station franchises and am/pm convenience store franchises.  The defendants are BP West Coast Products LLC and BP Products North America, Inc., both subsidiaries of BP p.l.c. (LSE: BP; NYSE: BP), and Retalix LTD (NASDAQ: RTLX).  

The case is entitled Green Desert Oil Group Inc. et al. v.  BP West Coast Products LLC et al. (N.D. Cal case number CV-11-2087).

The wrongful and illegal conduct set forth in the complaint include the following: (i)  BP Defendants required all franchisees to install a new centralized point of sale ("POS") computer system developed by co-defendant Retalix LTD that is defective which in turn, resulted in substantial damages to the franchisees such as lost operation time, lost revenue, lost or inaccurate inventory, lost receivables and cash, and increased operating costs and burdens; (ii) BP's illegal manipulation of gas supply and pricing; (iii) BP's improper direct control of and/or pricing by third-party vendors; (iv) BP's policy of forcing sale of items and collection of fees for which Plaintiffs receive no compensation.

There are over 1600 franchised BP and ARCO gas stations and am/pm stores across the country, all of whom are part of the proposed class for this lawsuit.  The Service Station Franchise Association, Inc. (SSFA), which represents a large number of the franchisees, has been instrumental in assisting the plaintiffs in their quest to bring the defendants to justice via this action.  

SeegerWeiss is one of the nation's preeminent plaintiffs' law firms with offices in New York City, Los Angeles and other cities.  It specializes in mass tort and class action litigation.  The firm's reputation for exceptional results, leadership and innovation has resulted in its appointment to numerous plaintiffs' steering or executive committees in a variety of high-profile multidistrict litigations throughout the United States.  Among its recent accomplishments include acting as Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs in the Vioxx Litigation against Merck & Co. that resulted in historic $4.85 billion settlement, one of the largest settlements of a mass litigation in United States history.  

LTL, based in Los Angeles, is one of the most technologically-savvy business trial law firms in the country.  LTL has extensive experience—and achieved significant successes—handling high-stakes matters involving some of the most sophisticated computer technologies.  Founded in 2003 as the first spin-off of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, one of the leading business trial law firms in the world, LTL has garnered its shares of accolades and successes.  LTL attorneys have consistently been honored by their peers and legal publications as among the rising stars in the legal profession.  

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SOURCE Lee Tran & Liang, APLC