Case No. RF304-15200
December 11, 1997
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Applications for Refund
Names of Petitioners:Atlantic Richfield Company/
Jerome Zielinski, et al.
Dates of Filings: December 6, 1993, et al.
Case Numbers: RF304-15200, et al.
This Decision and Order considers and grants 47 Applicants refunds from the monies that the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) remitted to the Department of Energy. Under the terms of a June 27, 1985 Consent Order entered into between the DOE and ARCO, ARCO remitted $46,387,976, plus accrued interest to the DOE. The Consent Order settled, except for certain matters specifically excluded, all claims regarding ARCO's compliance with the Federal Petroleum Price and Allocation Regulations during the period January 1, 1973, through January 27, 1981 (the consent order period). On January 28, 1988, the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the DOE instituted special refund procedures for the distribution of those funds. Atlantic Richfield Co., 17 DOE ¶ 85,069 (1988) (ARCO).(1) The special refund procedures allow purchasers of ARCO products which were regulated during the period of price controls (e.g., motor gasoline, propane, middle distillates, and natural gas liquid products) to file Applications for Refund from the ARCO consent order fund. Refunds can be sought only for regulated products purchased between March 6, 1973, and January 27, 1981, the end of the period of petroleum price controls. See id. at 88,143 n.5.
I. Background
Evaluating applications in this proceeding involves both an allocation of an appropriate portion of the consent order fund to each applicant and an evaluation of economic harm or injury suffered by that applicant. Id. at 88,151; see Sid Richardson Carbon & Gasoline Co., 12 DOE ¶ 85,054
(1984). To determine the portion of the fund to be allocated to each claimant, we assume that any overcharges were distributed equally over every gallon of regulated products sold by ARCO during the consent order period and allocated the consent order monies accordingly, i.e., by dividing the value of the fund by ARCO's total sales of covered products during the period. ARCO at 88,151. This calculation produces a "volumetric factor" of $0.000735 per gallon. When that factor is multiplied by an applicant's total eligible purchases, the result is a claimant's allocable share of the consent order fund. Unless an applicant demonstrates that it was disproportionately affected by ARCO's alleged practices, it cannot receive a refund greater than this allocable share of the consent order fund. Id. at 88,151.
Resellers and retailers claiming refunds of less than $5,000 in principal, those who have elected to limit their refunds to $5,000, and end users are presumed to have been injured by ARCO's alleged overcharges and are not required to submit a detailed showing of injury. Mid-level resellers and retailers whose full volumetric refunds exceed $12,193 may receive 41 percent of their full volumetric share up to $50,000 without providing detailed demonstrations of economic injury. Id. at 88,151-12. To qualify for a refund, such an applicant must submit evidence of its volume of purchases of ARCO products during the consent order period.
II. Analysis
All of the applicants listed in the Appendix to this Decision and Order are either end-users or resellers and retailers that have claimed refunds of less than $5,000 (principal amount), or are mid-level resellers who have elected to limit their refunds to the greater of $5,000 or 41 percent of their volumetric share. Each applicant has submitted satisfactory proof of its volume of purchases during the refund period.
We have reviewed these applications and have found them meritorious. Accordingly, we find that each of the firms listed in the Appendix should receive a refund from the ARCO consent order fund. In addition, each firm will receive a proportionate share of the interest accrued on the consent order funds. The purchases that form the basis for the refunds granted in this Decision total 31,887,290 gallons. The sum of the refunds approved in this Decision is $48,142, representing $23,437 in principal and $24,705 in interest.
Although we have carefully examined each applicant's claim and supporting data, the determinations reached in this Decision are based on the representations made in the applications. If the factual basis underlying any of our determinations in this Decision is later shown to be inaccurate, this Office has the authority to order appropriate remedial action, including rescission or reduction of the refunds ordered.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The 47 Applications for Refund specified in the Appendix to this Decision and Order are hereby granted as set forth in Paragraph (2) below.
(2) The Director of Special Accounts and Payroll, Office of Departmental Accounting and Financial Systems Development, Office of the Controller of the Department of Energy, shall take appropriate action to disburse from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of Treasury and funded by Atlantic Richfield Company, (Consent Order No. RARH00001Z) the amounts listed in the Appendix to the appropriate claimants. For each applicant, the checks shall be made payable to the Applicant and shall be sent to the address listed on the Appendix.
(3) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of statements and documentary material submitted by the applicants. The determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the factual basis underlying any of the Applications for Refund is incorrect.
(4) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date:December 11, 1997
(1)ARCO remitted a total of $68,035,516 to the DOE, of which $21,647,540 was associated with ARCO's alleged violations in the sale of crude oil. Those monies are being distributed in accordance with the crude oil refund procedures adopted in ARCO, 17 DOE at 88,150.
Appendix
CASE NO. APPLICANT CONTACT STREET CITY/STATE VOLUME PRINCIPAL INTEREST REFUND RF304-15200 JEROME ZIELINSKI #2 OR JEROME ZIELINSKI 7 ANYHOW LANE GANSEVOORT, NY 12831 417,353 $307 $323 $630 RF304-15201 JOE COLIN'S LIBERTY BELL ARCO OR JOSEPH J. CONLIN P.O. BOX 405 NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA 19073 1,145,949 $842 $888 $1,730 RF304-15203 JOHN BRIAN CLARK 3115 N. CARLISLE ST. PHILADELPHIA, PA 19132 3,953,329 $2,906 $3,063 $5,969 RF304-15205 JOHN'S ARCO SERVICE OR JOHN D. THIM 420 GARFIELD AVE. #B MONTEREY PARK, CA 91754 411,519 $302 $319 $621 RF304-15206 JOHN'S SHOREWOOD SUPER SERVICE OR JOHN OLHEISER 5913 FAWN AVE. LAS VEGAS, NV 89107 870,592 $640 $675 $1,315 RF304-15207 JONG DO SON 4941 QUAIL DR. LA PALMA, CA 90623 1,094,511 $804 $848 $1,652 RF304-15208 JOSEPH RUSSO RD 1, BOX 1422 PALMERTON, PA 18071 817,828 $601 $634 $1,235 RF304-15209 K-C ARCO OR KENNETH KUCIA & CARY G. PASSON 127 WILLARD BEDFORD, OH 44146 535,124 $393 $415 $808 RF304-15210 KELLEY'S ARCO AM/PM MINI MART OR DOROTHY KELLEY 148 PAVON HERCULES, CA 94547 4,430,833 $3,257 $3,433 $6,690 RF304-15211 KIMBERLING ARCO OR RONALD E. KIMBERLING P.O. BOX 59 HYMRA, IN 47855 260,441 $191 $202 $393 RF304-15212 KIMBERLING'S ARCO OR JAMES KIMBERLING 231 S. 150 E. VALPARAISO, IN 46383 222,024 $163 $172 $335 RF304-15218 MERLE REAM 27037 WEBER RD. BROWNSVILLE, OR 97327 233,859 $172 $181 $353 RF304-15219 MILTO FOTTA'S AUTO REPAIRS OR MILTON C. FOTTA 311 FORLIVIEW RD. GLENSHAW, PA 15116 383,265 $282 $297 $579 RF304-15220 NEIL'S ARCO OR NEIL E. WIMPHEIMER 203 S. 6TH ST. MOREHEAD, MN 56560 193,691 $142 $150 $292 RF304-15221 NEIL'S ARCO OR NEIL E. WIMPHEIMER 203 S. 6TH ST. MOREHEAD, MN 56560 191,271 $141 $148 $289 RF304-15222 NEIL'S ARCO OR NEIL E. WIMPHEIMER 203 S. 6TH ST. MOREHEAD, MN 56560 672,899 $495 $521 $1,016 RF304-15223 PAYETTE TIRE AND ALIGNMENT OR GALE NUGENT 1490 N. 9TH ST. PAYETTE, ID 83661 242,212 $178 $188 $366 RF304-15225 PIRTLE'S SERVICE OR CECIL PIRTLE & BETTY ROGERS 3786 THREE DOVES COVE MEMPHIS, TN 38133 394,191 $290 $305 $595 RF304-15227 RICH'S ARCO OR RICHARD TRAVIS 102 RT. 23 HAMBURG, NJ 07419 380,241 $279 $295 $574 RF304-15228 RICK MARCHETTI'S ARCO OR RICHARD P. MARCHETTI 573 CENTRALIA CT. SUNNYVALE, CA 94087 1,297,167 $953 $1,005 $1,958 RF304-15229 RICK MARCHETTI'S ARCO OR RICHARD P. MARCHETTI 573 CENTRALIA CT. SUNNYVALE, CA 94087 991,210 $729 $768 $1,497 RF304-15230 ROBERT C. REINHAGEN TRANS CO OR ROBERT REINHAGEN 55 WRIGHT ST. WINTER HAVEN, FL 33884 258,446 $190 $200 $390 RF304-15231 ROGER THOMAS ARCO SERVICE OR ROGER E. THOMAS 6 BOGHT RD. WATERVLIET, NY 12189 289,187 $213 $224 $437 RF304-15233 SOCK 87 SERVICE STATION OR MRS. WILLIAM BURGESS RD 1, BOX 227B BEECH CREEK, PA 16822 283,019 $208 $219 $427 RF304-15234 STEFANSKI BROS. OR FRANK STEFANSKI 1929 W. 21ST PLACE CHICAGO, IL 60608 221,619 $163 $172 $335 RF304-15236 T & J ARCO OR TAI NUMSUWANKIJKUL XXXXX XXXXX 343,815 $253 $266 $519 RF304-15237 ALEXANDER CO. OR MAURINE SANTOORJIAN 70750 SUNNY LANE RANCHO MIRAGE, CA 92270 1,208,311 $888 $936 $1,824 RF304-15239 TOM'S ARCO OR THOMAS GUARINO 45 DORIS AVE. LANCASTER, NY 14086 204,182 $150 $158 $308 RF304-15240 TOM'S ARCO OR THOMAS R. SEANOR 34 GRANT ST. #B GREENSBURG, PA 15601 621,848 $457 $482 $939 RF304-15242 TULLY'S ARCO OR JOSEPH W. TULLY 4408 N. MONROE ST. SPOKANE, WA 99205 326,675 $240 $253 $493 RF304-15243 U-PUMP-IT OR WILLIAM D. LOWE 733 BRADSHAW DR. CORPUS CHRISTI, TX 78412 215,150 $158 $167 $325 RF304-15244 ULY PAPINI ARCO OR ULYSSES PAPINI 560 IDAHO AVE. ESCONDIDO, CA 92025 298,467 $219 $231 $450 RF304-15245 VAN'S ARCO SERVICE OR ROBERT J. VANDENHOUT 56005 HIGHLAND TRAIL YUCCA VALLEY, CA 92284 203,705 $150 $158 $308 RF304-15246 VILLAGE ARCO OR LEROY CRAMER RD 2, BOX 225A NEW FLORENCE, PA 15944 381,089 $280 $295 $575 RF304-15247 WABASH AUTO OR ALVIN J. COULTER 153 SUNRIDGE DR. PITTSBURGH, PA 15234 271,399 $199 $210 $409 RF304-15248 WALT WEAVER'S ARCO OR WALTER WEAVER C/O WALT'S BAR 1531 ROBERTSON AVE. WILLOW GROVE, PA 19090 2,936,992 $2,159 $2,276 $4,435 RF304-15249 WALT'S ARCO OR WALTER YURAS 22 WOODROW RD. KENDALL PARK, NJ 08824 268,889 $198 $208 $406 RF304-15250 WARREN WAYSIDE MARKET OR GERTRUDE SULLENGER P.O. BOX 476 ST. HELENS, OR 97051 760,752 $559 $589 $1,148 RF304-15251 WEST END AUTO SERVICE OR JOHN E. OLIVEIRA 7 SPENCER WAY EAST FREETOWN, MA 02717 356,943 $262 $277 $539 RF304-15253 FRALEY BUTANE CO., INC. C/O ALICE VARNER BOX 1493 FT. STOCKTON, TX 79735 337,072 $248 $261 $509 RF304-15254 SAM STYLES 1229 RIVER OAKS CIRCLE DALLAS, TX 75146 991,824 $729 $768 $1,497 RF304-15256 A & A ARCO OR ALAN AYAZI 2508 PROSPECT AVE. MONTROSE, CA 91020 217,406 $160 $168 $328 RF304-15257 ART'S SUPER SERVICE OR ARTHUR MCKAY 11758 BRADY RD. CHESANING, MI 48616 296,668 $218 $230 $448 RF304-15258 ARTHUR'S SERVICE OR MRS. ELWOOD ARTHUR 304 N. CHERRY ST. AKRON, IN 46910 391,371 $288 $303 $591 RF304-15259 AUSTIN'S ARCO OR ARNOLD A. AUSTIN 1484 162ND AVE. SAN LEANDRO, CA 94578 489,706 $360 $379 $739 RF304-15260 BEVERLY HILLS ARCO OR JOHN B. ODONOGHUE 9117 S. OAKLEY AVE. CHICAGO, IL 60620 291,150 $214 $226 $440 RF304-15261 BILL & RAY'S ARCO OR RAMON DEANDA 2406 JENIBETH LANE AUSTIN, TX 78744 282,096 $207 $219 $426 Totals: 47 31,887,290 $23,437 $24,705 $48,142
Last Updated on 12/17/97
By OHA