Case No. RF300-21839
May 14, 1997
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Application for Refund
Names of Petitioners: Gulf Oil Corporation/Kens Gulf
Gulf Oil Corporation/Joes Gulf
Date of Filings: April 30, 1997
Case Numbers: RF300-21839
RF300-21840
This Decision and Order renders a determination upon the merits of two Application for Refund filed by Ken DeRossett. The first Application, Kens Gulf Station, was filed with the assistance of Energy Refunds, Inc., a private filing service, and was granted on April 5, 1989. Gulf Oil Corporation/Jenkins Gulf Station, Case No. RF300- 00200 (April 5, 1989). The second Application, Joes Gulf, was filed with the assistance of Resource Refunds, Inc., another private filing service, and was granted on July 25, 1991. Gulf Oil Corporation/D&J Service, Case No. RF300-11525 (July 25, 1991). (1)
On July 25, 1985, the Economic Regulatory Administration of the Department of Energy (DOE) filed a Petition with the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) requesting that the OHA formulate and implement procedures for distributing funds obtained through a consent order with Gulf Oil Corporation (Gulf). See 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V. The consent order resolved DOE allegations that Gulf violated the mandatory petroleum regulations in its sales of crude oil and refined petroleum products from January 1, 1973 through January 27, 1981 (the consent order period). On September 8, 1987, the OHA issued a Decision and Order setting forth final procedures for disbursing the portion of the Gulf settlement fund attributable to Gulf's sales of refined petroleum
products. Gulf Oil Corp., 16 DOE ¶ 85,381 (1987) (Gulf). In accordance with the goals of 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V, Gulf implements a process for refunding the consent order funds to purchasers of Gulf refined petroleum products who are able to demonstrate that they were injured as a result of Gulf's alleged overcharges.
In Case No. RF300-00225, Ken DeRossett requested a refund for 1,784,541 gallons of Gulf products purchased by Kens Gulf Station from March 1973 to January 1981. He stated that Kens Gulf Station operated throughout the refund period under that name on South Lake Drive in Prestonburg, Kentucky. Ken DeRossett did not provide a copy of his Gulf Customer Listing, but provided monthly estimates of his petroleum purchases, which he claimed were based on his distributors records. Through his filing service, Energy Refunds, Ken DeRossett alleged that, as owner of Kens Gulf Station during the refund period, he was entitled to receive full restitution for the stations Gulf purchases. Accordingly, on April 5, 1989, we granted a refund in the Gulf special refund proceeding to Kens Gulf Station in the amount of $1,481 (1,784,541 gallons x $.00083 = $1,481).(2) The check was issued to Kens Gulf Station OR Energy Refunds, Inc. and sent directly to the filing service.
In Case No. RF300-11536, Ken DeRossett requested a refund for 1,675,227 gallons of Gulf products purchased by Joes Gulf from March 1973 to January 1981. He stated that Joes Gulf, like Kens Gulf Station in Case No. RF300-00225, operated throughout the refund period under that name on South Lake Drive in Prestonburg, Kentucky. Again, Ken DeRossett did not provide a copy of his Gulf Customer Listing. Instead, he provided a copy of his Gulf I Application, with the gallonage claim multiplied by three to reflect the stations purchases throughout the refund period. Through his filing service, Resource Refunds, Ken DeRossett originally alleged that he owned Joes Gulf during the refund period and that he was entitled to receive full restitution for the stations Gulf purchases. When questioned by OHA Staff Analyst James Eichner, Ken DeRossett conceded that he had not owned the station throughout the refund period. Instead, he purchased the station in 1977 from his father, Joe DeRossett. Because his father had passed away, Ken DeRossett agreed to give sixty percent of the refund monies he was claiming in RF300-11536 to his mother, Leota DeRossett.(3) Accordingly, on July 25, 1991, the OHA granted a refund in the Gulf special refund proceeding to Joes Gulf in the amount of $1,625 (1,675,227 gallons x $.00097 = $1,625).(4)The check was issued directly to Joes Gulf OR Kenneth DeRossett. We received no verification that Ken DeRossett gave any of the refund monies granted in this case to his mother, Leota DeRossett.
To further complicate matters, Leota DeRossett also applied for, and received, a refund in the Gulf special refund proceeding in Case No. RF300-12003. In that Application, Mrs. DeRossett supplied a copy of the Gulf Customer Listing for the Gulf station located in Prestonburg, Kentucky and operating under the name Joes Gulf Service. The Gulf Customer List shows that Joe DeRossett, owner of the station and deceased husband of Leota DeRossett, purchased 1,015,704 gallons of Gulf product during the consent order period. Mrs. DeRossett also submitted a voided check and an invoice showing that her husband, Joe DeRossett, operated the station in question during the refund period under the name Joes Gulf Service. Accordingly, on June 19, 1991, we granted a refund in the Gulf special refund proceeding to Joes Gulf Service in the amount of $985 (1,015,704 gallons x $.00097 = $985). The Application was filed with the assistance of Federal Refunds, Inc., a private filing service, but the check was issued directly to Mrs. DeRossett.
Interestingly, directly under Joe DeRossetts Gulf Customer Listing, as submitted in RF300-12003, is a listing for Ken DeRossett, operating at the same address in Prestonburg, Kentucky. Ken DeRossetts Gulf Customer Listing indicates that he purchased only 435,449 gallons of Gulf product during the refund period. This is substantially lower than the gallons claimed by Kenneth DeRossett in Case Nos. RF300-00225 and RF300-11536. The Gulf Customer List also clearly indicates that Kenneth DeRossett was ineligible to receive the bulk of the refund monies granted in Case Nos. RF300-00225 and RF300-11536 because his father purchased the majority of the gallons used by the Gulf station located on South Lake Drive in Prestonburg, Kentucky. This fact is further supported by Ken DeRossetts own assertion in Case No. RF300-11536 that he did not purchase the station located at that address until 1977.
Any refund monies due to Joe DeRossett were granted to his widow, Leota DeRossett, in Case No. RF300-12003. We have determined that Ken DeRossett, owner of the station from 1977 forward, is entitled to receive a refund for only the 435,449 gallons listed on the Gulf Customer List under his name. This means Ken DeRossetts rightful refund amount in 1989 was actually $361 (435,449 gallons x $.00083 = $361) rather than the $1,481 granted in Case No. RF300-00225. Also, Ken DeRossett clearly should not have received an additional $1,625 in Case No. RF300-11536.
Accordingly, we will rescind a portion of the refund Ken DeRossett received in Case No. RF300-00225. The total amount rescinded from Ken DeRossett in that case is $1,120 (1,784,541 gallons - 435,449 gallons = 1,349,092 gallons; 1,349,092 gallons x .00083 = $1,120). Because Ken DeRossett filed the Application with the assistance of Energy Refunds, and because the filing service received the check on his behalf, the two are directed to jointly and severally remit the sum in question. For purposes of rescission, that case has been redesignated RF300-21839. We will also rescind the entire refund that Ken DeRossett received in Case No. RF300-11536. The total amount rescinded from Ken DeRossett in that case is $1,625 (1,675,227 gallons x .00097 = 1,625). Ken DeRossett filed the Application with the assistance of Resource Refunds, but received the check directly. We have no verification that Resource Refunds ever received money from Ken DeRossett related to this refund claim. However, because we believe that filing services should be held accountable for their fraudulent and duplicative filings, the two are directed to jointly and severally remit the sum in question. For purposes of the rescission, that case has been redesignated RF300-21840.
It Is Therefore Ordered That:
(1) The Decision and Order issued by the DOE on April 5, 1989, Gulf Oil Corporation/Jenkins Gulf Station, Case No. RF300-00200, is hereby rescinded with respect to Kens Gulf Station, Case No. RF300-00225. For purposes of the rescission, the case has been redesignated RF300-21839. The total amount rescinded from Kens Gulf Station is $1,120. This amount shall be remitted to the Department of Energy as instructed in Paragraph (3) of this Order.
(2) The Decision and Order issued by the DOE on July 25, 1991, Gulf Oil Corporation/D&J Service, Case No. RF300-11525, is hereby rescinded with respect to Joes Gulf, Case No. RF300-11536. For purposes of the rescission, the case has been redesignated RF300- 21840. The total amount rescinded from Joes Gulf is $1,625. This amount shall be remitted to the Department of Energy as instructed in Paragraph (4) of this Order.
(3) With respect to Case No. RF300-00225, Ken DeRossett of Kens Gulf Station applied for and received a refund with the assistance of Energy Refunds, Inc., a private filing service located in Hardin, Kentucky. Ken DeRossett and Energy Refunds, Inc. are hereby jointly and severally directed to remit the sum of $1,120 within thirty (30) days of this Decision and Order. The check shall be made payable to the U.S. Department of Energy, shall prominently display the redesignated Case No., RF300-21839, and shall be sent to:
Department of Energy
Office of the Controller
Cash Control Branch
P.O. Box 500
Germantown, MD 20874
(4) With respect to Case No. RF300-11536, Ken DeRossett of Joes Gulf applied for and received a refund with the assistance of Resource Refunds, Inc., a private filing service located in Cordova, Tennessee. Ken DeRossett and Resource Refunds, Inc. are hereby jointly and severally directed to remit the sum of $1,625 within thirty (30) days of this Decision and Order. The check shall be made payable to the U.S. Department of Energy, shall prominently display the redesignated Case No., RF300-21840, and shall be sent to:
Department of Energy
Office of the Controller
Cash Control Branch
P.O. Box 500
Germantown, MD 20874
(5) In the event that these payments are not made within 30 days of the date of this Decision and Order, interest shall accrue on the amount due at the rate generally assessed by the Department of Energy on overdue receivables. Other charges generally assessed on overdue DOE receivables shall also apply.
(6) Upon notification by the Office of the Controller of the receipt of these funds, the Director of Special Accounts and Payroll, Office of the Departmental Accounting and Financial Systems Development, Office of the Controller of the Department of Energy, shall deposit these funds into the deposit fund escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury and funded by Gulf Oil Corporation, Consent Order No. RGFA00001Z.
(7) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date: May 14, 1997
(1)Ken DeRossett also filed a third Application under the name Kens Gulf, which was dismissed as duplicative of RF300- 00225.
(2)The total volumetric on April 5, 1989 was $.00083, which was computed by adding the principal volumetric, $.00064, to the current interest volumetric of $.00019.
(3)See Record of Telephone Conversation between James Eichner, OHA Staff Analyst, and Ken DeRossett, refund applicant, dated May 21, 1991.
(4)The total volumetric on July 25, 1991 was $.00097, which was computed by adding the principal volumetric, $.00064, to the current interest volumetric of $.00033.