Case No. RF272-96088

May 10, 1999

DECISION AND ORDER

OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Application for Refund

Names of Petitioners: Baldwin Piano & Organ Company, et al.

Dates of Filings: May 26, 1994, et al.

Case Numbers: RF272-96088 et al.

This Decision and Order will consider Applications for Refund filed by thirteen claimants that purchased refined petroleum products during the period August 19, 1973 through January 27, 1981. Each applicant listed in the Appendix attached to this Decision and Order has requested a refund from crude oil monies available for disbursement by the Office of Hearings and Appeals of the Department of Energy pursuant to the Statement of Modified Restitutionary Policy In Crude Oil Cases, 51 Fed Reg. 27899 (August 4, 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 by the overcharges. Applicants that were end- users of petroleum products and whose business was unrelated to the petroleum industry, however, are presumed to have been injured. City of Columbus, Georgia, 16 DOE ¶ 85,550 (1981). Some of the applicants considered in this Decision and Order are agricultural cooperatives that bought petroleum products for resale to their members, who were end-users. We consider a claim by an agricultural cooperative that resold petroleum products to its members as a claim on behalf of the members. Farmers Union Oil Co., 17 DOE ¶ 85,464 (1988). (1) Therefore, we afford such a cooperative the presumption of end-user injury on the condition that it certify that it will pass through the refund to its members. (2) Six of the applicants considered in this Decision and Order

were submitted by Petroleum Funds, Inc., a private filing service located in Paris, Tennessee. One of the applicants considered in the Decision and Order was submitted by Energy Refunds, Inc., a private filing service located in Hardin, Kentucky.

The amount of an applicant’s refund is equal to $0.0016 per gallon multiplied by the volume of its purchases. Each of the applicants listed in the Appendix has documented its purchase volumes. 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 27,627,948 gallons and the sum of the refunds granted is $44,203.

It Is Therefore Ordered That:

(1) The Applications for Refund filed by the claimants listed in the Appendix 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 the refund amounts set forth in the Appendix to

this Decision and Order from the DOE deposit fund escrow account maintained at the

Department of Treasury denominated Crude Tracking-Claimants IV, Account No.

999DOE010Z, to the applicants listed in the Appendix.

(3) The cooperative applicants shall pass through any refunds they receive to their members on a dollar for dollar basis.

(4) To facilitate the payment of future refunds, the applicants 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: May 10, 1999

(1)All of the cooperatives considered in this Decision and Order have provided this certification.

(2)Interested parties were given an opportunity to submit comments regarding individual

crude oil refund applications. No such comments were filed with respect to any

application involved in this determination.

Appendix
CASE NO.APPLICANT CONTACTSTREET ADDRESSCITY/STATE VOLUMEREFUND
RF272-96088 BALDWIN PIANO & ORGAN CO.C/O WENDELL A. VAUGHN 422 WARD'S CORNER RD.LOVELAND, OH 4514083903,958,337 $6,333
RF272-96129 LAUGHLIN HOSIERY MILLS, INC.C/O NOLAN C. LOWE P.O. BOX 517RANDLEMAN, NC 27317 462,123 $739
RF272-96154 HUNTER GRAIN CO.C/O SHIRLEY HUDSON P.O. BOX 97HUNTER, ND 5804800976,549,098 $10,479
RF272-96207 TALLAHATCHIE COUNTYC/O NICK DENLEY OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.P.O. BOX 1380PARIS, TN 3824299861,120,889 $1,793
RF272-96208 LOUISA COUNTYC/O JACK BALL OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.P.O. BOX 1380PARIS, TN 382429986475,875 $761
RF272-96210 VILLAGE OF ARCADEC/O JOANNE E. OFFERS OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.P.O. BOX 1380PARIS, TN 382429986111,638 $179
RF272-96211 LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DIST.C/O THOMAS GRABILL P.O. BOX 26044INDIANAPOLIS, IN 4622600441,177,953 $1,885
RF272-96212 MIDDLE COUNTRY CTRL. SCHOOLSC/O JOHN J. BELMONTE OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.P.O. BOX 1380PARIS, TN 382429986745,766 $1,193
RF272-96213 MIFFLINBURG AREA SCHOOL DIST.C/O LINDA A. SMITH OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.P.O. BOX 1380PARIS, TN 382429986269,734 $432
RF272-96214 MCMINN COUNTY BD. OF EDUCATIONC/O JOHN FORGETY OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.P.O. BOX 1380PARIS, TN 3824299861,216,530 $1,946
RF272-96215 TOWN OF DERRYC/O GRACE E. COLLETTE OR PETROLEUM FUNDS, INC.P.O. BOX 1380PARIS, TN 382429986216,353 $346
RF272-96236 JOHN N. JOHN TRUCK LINESC/O JOSEPH A. JOHN P.O. BOX 921CROWLEY, LA 70527 783,412 $1,253
RG272-00111 SOUTH CENTRAL COOPC/O NEIL MOON OR ENERGY REFUNDS, INC.31 SMALL LANEHARDIN, KY 42048 10,540,240 $16,864
TOTALS: 13       27,627,948 $44,203
             


Last Updated on 4/15/1999
By OHA