Case No. RG272-00089

April 2, 1997

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Name of Applicant:Big Pine Trucking Co., Inc.

Date of Filing: April 10, 1995

Case Number: RG272-89

This Decision and Order will consider an Application for Refund filed by Big Pine Trucking Co., Inc. (Big Pine), a dissolved trucking company. The application is based upon Big Pine's purchases of refined petroleum products during the crude oil price control period (August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981). Big Pine applied through Wilson, Keller & Associates, a private filing service. Big Pine has requested a refund from crude oil funds available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) of the Department of Energy (DOE) under the provisions of 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V.

In the past, purchasers of refined products were allowed to apply to the OHA for a refund from crude oil overcharge funds collected by the DOE. 51 Fed. Reg. 27899 (August 4, 1986). We have established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through consent orders between the DOE and numerous firms that sold crude oil during the price control period. E.g., Berry Holding Co., 16 DOE ¶ 85,405 (1987); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85, 495 (1987); Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 14 DOE ¶ 85,475 (1986).

The refund procedures specify that in order to receive a refund, an applicant generally must: (1) document its purchase volumes and (2) show that it was injured by alleged crude oil overcharges. Applicants who were end-users of petroleum products, however, and whose businesses were unrelated to the petroleum industry are presumed to have absorbed the crude oil overcharges. These applicants need not submit proof of injury to receive a refund in the Subpart V proceeding. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987).

In general, an applicant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by the volumetric refund amount. Currently, the volumetric refund amount is $.0016 per gallon.

We have carefully reviewed the information submitted by Big Pine, and we have determined that the information provided by it sufficiently supports its Application for Refund. We find that Big Pine was an end-user of refined petroleum products. Accordingly, it is presumed injured by the crude oil overcharges and is entitled to receive its full allocable share of the crude oil funds.

Big Pine is a dissolved corporation. In the case of a voluntarily dissolved corporation, the Office of Hearings and Appeals has generally refunded the stockholders of the corporation at the time of dissolution according to their respective ownership percentages. See Gulf Oil/Pate's Gulf, 22 DOE ¶ 85,219 (1992). There were three shareholders at the time of Big Pine's dissolution. Each owned one-third of the shares and will therefore receive one-third of the refund. The total volume approved in this Decision is 3,114,008 gallons, and the refund granted is $4,982.

In accordance with Big Pine's instructions, we will direct the refund check to its filing service, Wilson, Keller & Associates. Upon receipt of the refund check, Wilson, Keller will divide the refund equally among the three shareholders at the time of Big Pine's dissolution. Wilson, Keller shall then notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals that they have divided the refund in said manner.

The final deadline for the crude oil proceeding was June 30, 1995. It is the current policy of the DOE to pay eligible crude oil refund applicants at the rate of $0.0016 per gallon. We will decide whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for this and other successful applicants when we are better able to determine how much additional money will be collected from firms that have either outstanding obligations to the DOE or enforcement cases currently in litigation.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Application for Refund filed by Big Pine Trucking Co., Inc., is hereby granted as set forth in Paragraphs (2) and (3) below.

(2) A total of $4,982 shall be disbursed from the escrow fund denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants 4, Account No. 999DOE010Z, maintained at the Department of the Treasury.

(3) Big Pine applied through the filing service Wilson, Keller & Associates. In accordance with its request, its refund check, in the amount of $4,982, should be sent to: "Wilson, Keller & Associates, Re: Big Pine Trucking Co., Inc., P.O. Box 221145, Memphis, TN, 38122."

(4) Upon receipt of the refund check, Wilson, Keller & Associates shall divide the refund equally among the three shareholders. Wilson, Keller shall then notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals, in writing, that they have divided the refund in such a manner.

(5) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, the shareholders of Big Pine shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change of address, or if an address correction is necessary. Such notification shall be sent to:

Director of Management Information

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Department of Energy

1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.

Washington, D.C. 20585-0107

(6) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary materials submitted by the applicant. Any of these determinations may be revoked or modified at any time upon a finding that the basis underlying any Application for Refund is incorrect.

(7) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.

George B. Breznay

Director

Office of Hearings and Appeals

Date: April 2, 1997