§ 399-EE — Zone pricing of gasoline prohibited

§ 399-ee. Zone pricing of gasoline prohibited. 1. As used in this\nsection:\n (a) "Affiliate" means any person whose stock is more than fifty\npercent owned by or who, regardless of stock ownership, is controlled by\nor is under common control with any other person.\n (b) "Competition" means the vying for motor fuel sales between any two\nor more sellers in the same relevant geographic market.\n (c) "Dealer" means any person, other than a refiner or wholesaler, who\nis engaged in the business of selling motor fuel at a retail outlet.\n (d) "Motor fuel" means any petroleum product, including any special\nfuel which is used for the propulsion of any motor vehicle.\n (e) "Posted terminal price" means a refiner's posted price at a\nterminal, by grade and quality of motor fuel, to the wholesale class of\ntrade within a general trade area. If a refiner does not have a posted\nterminal price in a general trade area, such refiner's posted terminal\nprice shall be deemed to be no lower than the lowest posted terminal\nprice of motor fuel of like grade and quality of any other refiner\nselling to the wholesale class of trade in the general trade area.\n (f) "Refiner" means any person who produces and stores or exchanges\nmotor fuel at a terminal facility and who sells or transfers motor fuel\nthrough the loading rack at such terminal facility, and includes an\naffiliate of such refiner with respect to such affiliate's sale of motor\nfuel.\n (g) "Relevant geographic market" means the geographic area of\neffective competition.\n (h) "Retail outlet" means a facility, including land and improvements,\nwhere motor fuel is offered for sale at retail to the public.\n (i) "Sale" or "sell" means any retail transfer, gift, barter, sale,\noffer for sale, or advertisement for sale in any manner or by any means\nwhatsoever.\n (j) "Supplier" means any person who conveys, transports, or otherwise\ncauses motor fuel to be delivered to another person, except that any\nperson who conveys, transports, or otherwise causes motor fuel to be\ndelivered as part of a retail sale shall not be considered a supplier.\n (k) "Terminal facility" means any inland, waterfront, or offshore\nappurtenance on land used for the purpose of receiving, storing,\nhandling, or transferring motor fuel, but does not include bulk storage\nfacilities owned or operated by a wholesaler.\n (l) "Wholesaler" means any person, other than a refiner or dealer, who\npurchases motor fuel at a terminal facility and supplies motor fuel to\nretail outlets.\n (m) "Zone pricing" means the arbitrary price differences within the\nrelevant geographic market, based on the posted terminal price or where\nthe effect is to injure competition.\n 2. No wholesaler shall engage in zone pricing with respect to any\nmotor fuel of like grade or quality.\n 3. In addition to any other remedies provided by law, whenever there\nshall be a violation of this section, application may be made by the\nattorney general in the name of the people of the state of New York to a\ncourt or justice having jurisdiction by a special proceeding to issue an\ninjunction, and, upon notice to the defendant of not less than five\ndays, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such violations; and if\nit shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or justice that the\ndefendant has, in fact, violated this section, an injunction may be\nissued by such court or justice, enjoining or restraining any further\nviolation, without requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been\ninjured or damaged thereby. In any such proceedings, the court may make\nallowances to the attorney general as provided in paragraph six of\nsubdivision (a) of section eighty-three hundred three of the civil\npractice law and rules, and direct restitution. Whenever the court shall\ndetermine that a violation of this section has occurred, the court may\nimpose a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each\nviolation. In connection with any such proposed application, the\nattorney general is authorized to take proof and make a determination of\nthe relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil\npractice law and rules.\n