RS 3:4690

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RS 3:4690

§4690. Petroleum bulk sale of motor fuel, temperature adjusted volume required

A. As used in this Section, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning hereinafter ascribed to them:

(1)"Gross gallons" are those gallons that have not been temperature adjusted.

(2)"Net gallons" are those gallons that have been temperature adjusted to sixty degrees Fahrenheit.

(3)"Petroleum product bulk sale" means a single sale of at least seven thousand gross gallons of a petroleum product made at a single place and time other than those sales made on a consignment basis.

(4)"Petroleum jobber" means any person, firm, corporation or association of persons:

(a)Who is a distributor or wholesaler of a petroleum product or who is the intermediate or middleman between the refiner and the retail dealer, the consumer, or another jobber; and

(b)Whose principal business is buying petroleum products for resale to retail dealers, consumers, or other jobbers.

(5)"Refiner" means any person engaged in the refining of crude oil to produce petroleum products and includes any affiliate of such person.

(6)"Retailer" is as defined in R.S. 51:421(A).

B.(1) Any refiner making a petroleum bulk sale of petroleum products to any retailer or petroleum jobber shall make the sale on a temperature adjusted volume basis of net gallons. The net gallons adjustment shall be made in accordance with "API/ASTM-IP Petroleum Measurement Table 6B" of the 1980 American Petroleum Institute's Manual of Petroleum Measurement Standards.

(2)The refiner shall provide the retailer or petroleum jobber with a receipt, invoice, or meter ticket specifying the petroleum product received and the following information:

(a)The gross gallons received.

(b)The temperature at the time of loading.

(c)The APA gravity.

(d)The net gallons purchased.

C. A retailer or petroleum jobber may bring a civil action against a refiner who violates a provision of Subsection B of this Section. The action may be brought, regardless of the amount in controversy, in the district court in any parish in which the refiner or the petroleum jobber or the retailer is doing business.

D. In an action under this Section, the court shall grant equitable relief, that may include a declaratory judgment, any permanent injunctive relief, or any temporary injunctive relief, that the court determines is necessary to remedy the effects of the refiner violation.

E. A retailer or petroleum jobber who prevails in an action brought under this Section shall be awarded the amount of actual damages and shall also be awarded court costs and reasonable attorney's fees in relation to the amount of work performed by the attorney.

F. In addition to any other remedy or damages provided for in this Section, if the court determines that the refiner willfully and knowingly violated the provisions of Subsection B of this Section, the court may award three times the amount of actual damages to the prevailing retailer or petroleum jobber.

Acts 2003, No. 139, §1, eff. May 28, 2003.