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:

(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 section eighty-three hundred three 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.