N.Y. General Business Law 399-EE – Zone pricing of gasoline prohibited
§ 399-ee. Zone pricing of gasoline prohibited. 1. As used in this section:
Terms Used In N.Y. General Business Law 399-EE
- Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
(a) "Affiliate" means any person whose stock is more than fifty percent owned by or who, regardless of stock ownership, is controlled by or is under common control with any other person.
(b) "Competition" means the vying for motor fuel sales between any two or more sellers in the same relevant geographic market.
(c) "Dealer" means any person, other than a refiner or wholesaler, who is engaged in the business of selling motor fuel at a retail outlet.
(d) "Motor fuel" means any petroleum product, including any special fuel which is used for the propulsion of any motor vehicle.
(e) "Posted terminal price" means a refiner's posted price at a terminal, by grade and quality of motor fuel, to the wholesale class of trade within a general trade area. If a refiner does not have a posted terminal price in a general trade area, such refiner's posted terminal price shall be deemed to be no lower than the lowest posted terminal price of motor fuel of like grade and quality of any other refiner selling to the wholesale class of trade in the general trade area.
(f) "Refiner" means any person who produces and stores or exchanges motor fuel at a terminal facility and who sells or transfers motor fuel through the loading rack at such terminal facility, and includes an affiliate of such refiner with respect to such affiliate's sale of motor fuel.
(g) "Relevant geographic market" means the geographic area of effective competition.
(h) "Retail outlet" means a facility, including land and improvements, where motor fuel is offered for sale at retail to the public.
(i) "Sale" or "sell" means any retail transfer, gift, barter, sale, offer for sale, or advertisement for sale in any manner or by any means whatsoever.
(j) "Supplier" means any person who conveys, transports, or otherwise causes motor fuel to be delivered to another person, except that any person who conveys, transports, or otherwise causes motor fuel to be delivered as part of a retail sale shall not be considered a supplier.
(k) "Terminal facility" means any inland, waterfront, or offshore appurtenance on land used for the purpose of receiving, storing, handling, or transferring motor fuel, but does not include bulk storage facilities owned or operated by a wholesaler.
(l) "Wholesaler" means any person, other than a refiner or dealer, who purchases motor fuel at a terminal facility and supplies motor fuel to retail outlets.
(m) "Zone pricing" means the arbitrary price differences within the relevant geographic market, based on the posted terminal price or where the effect is to injure competition.
2. No wholesaler shall engage in zone pricing with respect to any motor fuel of like grade or quality.
3. In addition to any other remedies provided by law, whenever there shall be a violation of this section, application may be made by the attorney general in the name of the people of the state of New York to a court or justice having jurisdiction by a special proceeding to issue an injunction, and, upon notice to the defendant of not less than five days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such violations; and if it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or justice that the defendant has, in fact, violated this section, an injunction may be issued by such court or justice, enjoining or restraining any further violation, without requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been injured or damaged thereby. In any such proceedings, the court may make allowances to the attorney general as provided in paragraph six of subdivision (a) of § 8303 of the civil practice law and rules, and direct restitution. Whenever the court shall determine that a violation of this section has occurred, the court may impose a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each violation. In connection with any such proposed application, the attorney general is authorized to take proof and make a determination of the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil practice law and rules.