Case No. RF272-39798
August 4, 1997
DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Applications for Refund
Names of Petitioners: Ray G. Andis et al.
Dates of Filings: January 7, 1988 et al.
Case Numbers: RF272-39798 et al.
This Decision and Order will consider the Applications for Refund filed by five claimants that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973, through January 27, 1981 (the crude oil price control period). Each applicant has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Energy under 10 C.F.R. Part 205, Subpart V. We have established refund procedures for these funds, which have been made available through consent orders entered into by the DOE and numerous firms that sold crude oil during the price control period. E.g., Berry Holding Co., 16 DOE ¶ 85,405 (1987) (Berry); A. Tarricone, Inc., 15 DOE ¶ 85,495 (1987); Mountain Fuel Supply Co., 14 DOE ¶ 85,475 (1986).
In order to receive a refund for crude oil overcharges, an applicant generally must: (1) document its purchase volumes; and (2) show that it was injured as a result of the alleged overcharges. However, as we discussed in City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1987), applicants who were end-users of petroleum products and whose businesses were unrelated to the petroleum industry are presumed to have absorbed the crude oil overcharges, and generally need not submit proof of injury to receive a refund in the Subpart V proceeding. See also Berry.
In general, a claimant is eligible for a refund equal to the number of gallons it purchased multiplied by $0.0016 per gallon, the volumetric refund amount currently available. We derived the volumetric refund amount by dividing the total crude oil refund monies currently available by the total U.S. consumption of petroleum products during the period of crude oil price controls (2,020,997,335,000 gallons).
Each of the applicants considered in this Decision and Order is an end-user. Each bought petroleum products to operate its business. Each applicant has derived its purchase volume claim by using actual records or a reasonable estimation technique. We have
carefully reviewed the information submitted by the applicants, and have determined that the information provided by the applicants sufficiently supports their requests for refunds.
One application considered in this Decision was filed on behalf of DeWall Trucking Service, Inc. (DeWall), Case No. RF272-98704. DeWall was dissolved in 1981 and Urban F. DeWall was the sole shareholder at that time. Mr. DeWall passed away thereafter. His will contained a specific bequest of the stock of DeWall to his two daughters, Carole R. Dannehl and Janice L. Papps, but this is not controlling since the company had dissolved by the time he passed away. In this type of case, we generally consider the right to a refund to be transferred by the residuary clause of a will. See, e.g., Texaco Inc./Eastland Texaco, 24 DOE ¶ 85,074 (1994). Mr. DeWall left the remainder of his property to his two daughters equally. We direct Wilson, Keller and Associates, the applicants filing service, to divide the refund for Case No. RF272-98704 in this manner.
Another of the applicants, George A. Fetzer, Inc. (Fetzer), Case No. RF272-98712, was a corporation that was declared void by the State of New Jersey in 1982. The applicant was in bankruptcy from 1980 through 1992. The Office of the U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee in Newark has informed us that it is uninterested in reopening the bankruptcy. In this circumstance, we would normally grant the refund to the shareholders remaining at the time of dissolution, George and Louise Fetzer. Since Mr. Fetzer has passed away, leaving his wife as his sole heir, we are granting the entire refund to Mrs. Fetzer.
Since the applicants listed in the Appendix to this Decision are end-users of refined petroleum products, they are presumed injured by the crude oil overcharges and are entitled to receive their full allocable share of the crude oil monies. The refund amounts are calculated by multiplying the approved purchase volumes by the volumetric refund amount of $0.0016 per gallon. The purchase volumes and refunds approved for each applicant are set forth in the Appendix. The total volume for which refunds are approved in this Decision is 19,621,683 gallons, and the sum of the refunds granted is $31,395.
DeWall and Fetzer filed their Applications through Wilson, Keller & Associates, a private filing service. In accordance with these applicants' requests, their refund checks will be made payable to the applicants or Wilson, Keller & Associates and be sent to Wilson, Keller & Associates. One of the applicants, Parker Metal & Parker Realty, Case No. RF272-57026, filed its application through Federal Action, another private filing service. However, the refund check will be sent to that applicant directly for the reason described in Crude Oil Supplemental Refund Distribution, 26 DOE ¶ 85,039 (1997). The remaining two applicants will have their checks sent to them directly.
The final deadline for the crude oil refund proceeding was June 30, 1995. It is the current policy of the DOE to pay crude oil refund claimants at the current rate of $0.0016 per gallon. We will decide whether sufficient crude oil overcharge funds are available for additional refunds for these 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 Applications for Refund filed by the three claimants listed in the Appendix attached to this Decision and Order for all available crude oil overcharge funds are hereby approved 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 escrow account maintained at the Department of the Treasury denominated Crude Tracking- Claimants IV, Account No. 999DOE010Z, the amounts specified in the Appendix to this Decision and Order to the applicants specified in that Appendix.
(3) Upon receipt of the refund checks, Wilson, Keller & Associates shall divide the refund for Case No. RF272-98704 as set forth in this Decision and Order. Wilson, Keller & Associates shall then notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals, in writing, that it has divided the refund in such a manner.
(4) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, each applicant shall notify the Office of Hearings and Appeals in the event that there is a change in its 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
(5) The determinations made in this Decision and Order are based upon the presumed validity of the statements and documentary material submitted by the applicants. This Decision and Order may be revoked or modified at any time upon a determination that the basis underlying a refund application is incorrect.
(6) This is a final Order of the Department of Energy.
George B. Breznay
Director
Office of Hearings and Appeals
Date: August 4, 1997
[Case Nos. RF272-39798 et al.]
APPENDIX
Case No.
Payee
Purchase
Refund
and Applicant
and Address
Volume
[Gallons]
_______________________ _____
_____________________ _____
_________ __
_________ __
RF272-39798
Ray G. Andis
11,195
$18
Ray G. Andis
19663 County Rd. 28
Sanford, CO 81151-9539
RF272-57026
Parker Metal & Parker Realty
2,449,561
$3,919
Parker Metal & Parker Realty
c/o Jordan Levy, Pres./CEO
150 Grove Street
P.O. Box 15052
Worcester, MA 01615-0052
RF272-57167
Starry Construction Co.
12,140,624
$19,425
Starry Construction Co.
c/o Nancy Knight
6325 County Road 87 SW
Alexandria, MN 56308
RF272-98704
DeWall Trucking Service, Inc.
1,422,236
$2,276
DeWall Trucking Service, Inc.
OR Wilson, Keller & Associates
c/o Carole R. Dannehl and
Janice L. Papps
P.O. Box 221135
Memphis, TN 38122
RF272-98712
George A. Fetzer, Inc.
3,598,067
$5,757
George A. Fetzer, Inc.
OR Wilson, Keller & Associates
c/o Louise Fetzer
P.O. Box 221135
Memphis, TN 38122
_______________________ _____
_____________________ _____
_________ __
_________ __
Five Applicants
19,621,683
$31,395