ATLANTA Appeals court rules Exxon must pay dealers

Exxon says it is very disappointed and considering its options.
ATLANTA (AP) -- A federal appeals court upheld a $500 million judgment against Exxon that will compensate 10,000 gas station owners who claimed the company overcharged them for gasoline for 12 years. The company plans to consider its options for further appeal.
The case dates to 1982, when Exxon began charging dealers a 3 percent processing fee on gasoline sales paid by credit cards. The company promised to offset the charge by cutting the wholesale cost of the fuel.
Exxon did that for six months, reducing the wholesale price by 1.7 cents a gallon. But by March 1983, it stopped providing the offset without informing the dealers.
The dealers didn't notice until 1991, when they filed a class action suit against Exxon. The trial resulted in a hung jury in 1999. The case was retried in Miami in 2001 and resulted in a unanimous verdict for the dealers.
Jeanne Miller, spokesperson for Exxon Mobil Corp. in Fairfax, Va., said Friday the company was "very disappointed with the decision" by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta and will evaluate its options for further appeal.
"Exxon operated in good faith and met its obligations that were in the best interests of dealers and customers," Miller said.
Exxon Mobil Corp. was formed four years ago when Exxon and Mobil merged.
On average, the station owners will get $50,000 each, not counting interest. The money will be distributed to each owner based on the number of gallons of gasoline bought by credit card at the owner's station during the 12-year period.
The plaintiffs' attorneys say the total judgment, with interest, is $1.2 billion, or $100,000 per dealer.