Go-Tane Service Stations, Inc. v. Clark Oil & Refining Corp.

798 F.2d 481, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 29838
CourtTemporary Emergency Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 31, 1986
DocketNo. 7-16
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 798 F.2d 481 (Go-Tane Service Stations, Inc. v. Clark Oil & Refining Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Go-Tane Service Stations, Inc. v. Clark Oil & Refining Corp., 798 F.2d 481, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 29838 (tecoa 1986).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Go-Tane Service Stations, Inc. (Go-Tane), plaintiff-appellee, filed this action in district court on April 25, 1979, alleging violations of the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 (ESA), section 210, 12 U.S.C. § 1904 note, as incorporated by reference in § 5(a) of the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act (EPAA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 751-760h, and seeking recovery of over-charges and lost profits. The claims were tried to a jury over the affirmative defense of Clark Oil and Refining Corp. (Clark), defendant-appellant, that the claims were barred by Illinois’ five year statute of limitations.1 The jury returned a verdict in favor of Go-Tane for $279,667.00 gasoline overcharges and $2,967,466.00 lost profits. We reverse in part and affirm in part, holding (1) that the claims for overcharges arose more than five years before the commencement of the action and cannot be saved by resort to any continuing violation or kindred theory, and (2) that the claim for wrongful allocation injury first occurred within the five year period and was not barred or otherwise invalid.

I. Background

Go-Tane is an unbranded wholesale buyer-reseller of motor gasoline. Clark is a refiner of motor gasoline and was one of Go-Tane’s principal suppliers, as well as the supplier of its own branded retail dealers. Prior to 1973, Clark sold gasoline to unbranded wholesale accounts such as Go-Tane at prices lower than the prices to its branded retail dealers.

On August 20, 1973, the regulations promulgated under ESA became effective. 10 C.F.R. parts 210-212.2 The pricing regulations precluded a refiner from charging a price in excess of the maximum allowable price equalling the weighted average selling price (WASP) it charged to the respective classes of purchaser on (or if there were no sales on that date, last before) May 15, 1973, plus certain increased costs. 10 C.F.R. § 212.82.3 Clark admitted that it [484]*484incorrectly used an August 20, 1973 WASP rather than the correct May 15, 1973 WASP, thus increasing prices charged GoTane with reference to prices charged Clark’s own branded dealers, in reversal of its historical practice and substantially altering the price differential between the two classes.4 Clark first overcharged GoTane in December 1973.

In its second amended complaint Go-Tane alleged six causes of action. The district court, in an order dated June 7, 1984, held that the statute of limitations barred recovery of overcharges for violation of the pricing regulations under count I caused by an overinflated May 15 WASP, improper classification of Go-Tane, and failure to maintain customary price differentials, and under count III, caused by the imposition of stricter credit terms. The district court further held that the statute of limitations did not bar recovery of overcharges for violation of the pricing regulations under count II, caused by improper product and non-product cost increases, and count IV, caused by improper recoupment of banked costs; nor did it bar recovery of lost profits for violation of the normal business practices rule under count V caused by the failure to maintain the customary price differential among classes of purchasers. Go-Tane withdrew count VI for recovery of treble damages at the final pretrial conference. The parties in their briefs collectively refer to counts I through IV as the price claims, and to count V as the allocation claim.

In a subsequent order, dated July 26, 1984, the district court in effect reversed its earlier holding. It reasoned that counts II and IV could not be proved without first proving violation under count I. At trial Go-Tane recovered on all alleged pricing claims and on the allocation claim.

II. Issues on Appeal

Despite the wide range and complexities of the briefing, the problems before us on this appeal are quite narrow, as follows:

(1) whether the district court correctly held that the statute of limitations barred neither the price claims nor the allocation claim;
(2) whether the district court correctly instructed the jury that failure to maintain the customary price differential violated the normal business practices rule, 10 C.F.R. § 210.62; and
(3) whether the district court abused its discretion when it permitted Go-Tane to use at trial expert computer computations not disclosed during discovery.

We consider these issues in order.

III. The Statute of Limitations Bar

A. The Price Claims

The statute of limitations begins to run when an act with decisive continuing effect causes initial injury at a given time, and the statute is not tolled with respect to continued injury of similar character following from the same act. CPI Crude, Inc. v. Coffman, 776 F.2d 1546, 1552-53 (TECA 1985); Oerther v. Pennzoil Co., 763 F.2d 420, 421-22 (TECA 1985); Lerner v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 731 F.2d 898, 901 (TECA 1984); Western Mountain Oil, Inc. v. Gulf Oil Corp., 726 F.2d 765, 768 (TECA 1983); Fleetwing Corp. v. Mobil Oil Corp., 726 F.2d 768, 770 (TECA 1983).

Each price claim alleged by Go-Tane hinges on an improper act initiated by Clark with knowledge and over protest of Go-Tane and with injurious consequences to Go-Tane more than five years before the filing of the action. See Lerner, 731 F.2d at 900. Count I stemmed from the misclassification of Go-Tane, count III from the discontinuation of favorable credit terms, both acts occurring prior to April 25, 1974. In its June 7 order, the district court appropriately found counts I and III barred by the statute of limitations. Likewise, improper product and non-product cost in[485]*485creases under count II and improper recoupment of banked costs under count IV resulted from the use of an incorrect August 20th WASP, an act occurring more than five years before the action was filed. See 10 C.F.R. § 212.83(c), (h). The district court should have disallowed recovery on all price claims predicated on a single improper act. Lerner, 731 F.2d at 900.

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Bluebook (online)
798 F.2d 481, 1986 U.S. App. LEXIS 29838, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/go-tane-service-stations-inc-v-clark-oil-refining-corp-tecoa-1986.