Ohio Turnpike Commission v. Texaco, Inc.

297 N.E.2d 557, 35 Ohio Misc. 99, 64 Ohio Op. 2d 383, 1973 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 228
CourtCuyahoga County Common Pleas Court
DecidedJune 13, 1973
DocketNo. 917,853
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 297 N.E.2d 557 (Ohio Turnpike Commission v. Texaco, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ohio Turnpike Commission v. Texaco, Inc., 297 N.E.2d 557, 35 Ohio Misc. 99, 64 Ohio Op. 2d 383, 1973 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 228 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1973).

Opinion

Fink, J.

This case came on for hearing this 13th day day of June, 1973, upon the Complaint of the plaintiff, Ohio Turnpike Commission, for a preliminary injunction to prevent defendant, Texaco, Inc., from restricting the purchase of gasoline and diesel fuel by customers using the facilities owned by the OMo Turnpike Commission and operated by Texaco, on the evidence presented by both parties, the briefs of counsel, and the law.

The court finds that there are sixteen service station plazas located upon the Ohio Turnpike. Each is operated as a result of a written contract entered into by competitive bidding between the Ohio Turnpike and the respective companies operating said stations. At the present time four such stations are operated by Texaco and the other twelve are operated, four each, by three other prominent oil companies. Only the defendant, Texaco, has indicatd to the plaintiff, Ohio Turnpike Commission, that it intends [100]*100to limit the sale of gasoline and diesel fuel to its customers on the turnpike.

The issues presented are as follows:

1. Does the contract between the plaintiff and the defendant require that defendant service all of the needs of the customers utilizing the facilities of the turnpike operated by the defendants herein?

2. If so, would a limiting of the sales of gasoline to 10 gallons per automobile and of diesel fuel to 35 gallons per customer with reductions down to 25 gallons per customer, constitute irreparable injury to the plaintiff, which can only be properly remedied by the utilization of a preliminary injunction?, and

3. If so, has evidence been presented which would make the action contemplated by Texaco legally valid or legally excusable and thus prevent the issuance of an injunction in the case at bar?

This court shall treat each of these issues in order.

I. The contracts for the operation of the four Texaco service plazas became effective on October 1, 1965, for a ten-year period terminating on September 30, 1975, and thus have some two years and four months remaining. The operative provisions of the contracts are as follows:

“ §5. RENT. The Operator shall pay to the Commission on all sales made and services rendered by Operator from the premises during the term of the contract the following rental: 9.77 cents per gallon on the sale of all gasoline, three cents per gallon on diesel fuel sold to commercial operators, and ten percent of the gross receipts from the sale, including all sales to the Operator, of all other merchandise (including motor oil) and from the performance of services.
“In the event that diesel fuel or motor fuel other than gasoline attains wide and general use for passenger cars it shall be dispensed to passenger cars from the pumps in front of the building and payment to the Commission shall be at the rate bid per gallon for gasoline for all diesel fuel or other motor fuel so dispensed.
1 ‘ The term ‘ gross receipts ’ shall mean the amounts re-[101]*101eeived, in cash or credit, from the sale of all products and services, including vending machine products, from the premises, except gasoline and diesel fuel, or other motor fuel, whether sold for consumption on or off the premises, and shall include the amounts received from the sale of all goods whether sold at the station or delivered elsewhere. In case of trade in allowance or warranty adjustments, Operator shall be considered to have received the retail list price and no deduction shall be made therefrom. ‘ Gross receipts’ shall include the amounts charged in any and all credit transactions, whether any such amount or any part thereof be collected or not. ‘Gross receipts’ shall not include any amount collected by Operator from a consumer as state sales tax or federal consumers’ excise tax, but ‘gross receipts’ shall include any amount paid as federal manufacturers’ excise tax. The general intent of this provision is to include within ‘gross receipts’ all amounts received or charged by Operator as consideration for merchandise and services irrespective of any tax payable by him but to exclude therefrom all amounts which he is required by any law to collect from his customers, and, in turn, to pay over to any governmental agency, either by prepurchase of tax stamps or otherwise. ‘Gross receipts’ shall not include income from any public telephone located on the premises.
“The relationship of debtor-creditor shall exist between the parties as to the Commission’s share of moneys collected but not paid to Commission.”
“$7. STANDARD OF SERVICE. The Operator shall at all times offer for sale diesel fuel and at least two grades of gasoline, one ‘regular’ grade and one ‘premium’ grade as such grades are commonly known in the industry. The Operator may at his option offer more than two grades of gasoline; provided, however, that if during the term of this contract, including extensions thereof, a new motor vehicle fuel attains wide and general use, the Operator may with the consent of the Commission or at the request of the Commission shall offer such new fuel at the service stations.
[102]*102‘ ‘ Operator agrees to operate the service station in a highly efficient manner, and to conduct his operations in accordance with the highest standards of management for service stations, to the end that the public may be served promptly in the best possible manner and that public esteem may be won for Operator, his service and products, and for the Ohio Turnpike. Operator shall at all times have sufficient attendants on duty and sufficient pump islands in operation so as to insure that no more than five vehicles are being served or waiting to be served at any one time at one pump lane. A continuing violation of the requirements set forth in this paragraph shall be deemed nonperformance in accordance with the provisions of §34.”
“§19. HOURS. Operator shall operate the service station twenty-four hours of every day during the entire term of this contract, unless the Commission otherwise permits in writing.”
“§34. CANCELLATION FOR NONPERFORMANCE. If Operator fails to conduct his operations in accordance with the terms, conditions, and provisions of this contract, the Commission may notify Operator in writing of such failure, specifying in what manner Operator is failing in his duties. Operator shall have thirty days to correct the conditions set forth in the notice from the Commission, and if, at the end of such thirty-day period. Operator has not corrected said conditions, or taken all reasonable steps to correct said conditions, the Commission may terminate this contract. Such termination shall not be effective until sixty days after the service of written noti.ee thereof. The rights in this §34 conferred upon the Commission are exercisable at its option, and are alternative and additional to all other remedies herein or by law granted to Commission for breach hereof by Operator.”
“§36. CANCELLATION FOR CEASING OPERATIONS. If Operator ceases for any period of time without reasonable cause to furnish motor fuel, motor oil, or a majority of the other goods or services contained on Operator’s list of goods and services required by §7, the Commission may, at its option, terminate the contract imme[103]*103diately.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
297 N.E.2d 557, 35 Ohio Misc. 99, 64 Ohio Op. 2d 383, 1973 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 228, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ohio-turnpike-commission-v-texaco-inc-ohctcomplcuyaho-1973.