New York Laws
Article 26 - Miscellaneous
399-EE - Zone Pricing of Gasoline Prohibited.

(a) "Affiliate" means any person whose stock is more than fifty
percent owned by or who, regardless of stock ownership, is controlled by
or is under common control with any other person.
(b) "Competition" means the vying for motor fuel sales between any two
or more sellers in the same relevant geographic market.
(c) "Dealer" means any person, other than a refiner or wholesaler, who
is engaged in the business of selling motor fuel at a retail outlet.
(d) "Motor fuel" means any petroleum product, including any special
fuel which is used for the propulsion of any motor vehicle.
(e) "Posted terminal price" means a refiner's posted price at a
terminal, by grade and quality of motor fuel, to the wholesale class of
trade within a general trade area. If a refiner does not have a posted
terminal price in a general trade area, such refiner's posted terminal
price shall be deemed to be no lower than the lowest posted terminal
price of motor fuel of like grade and quality of any other refiner
selling to the wholesale class of trade in the general trade area.
(f) "Refiner" means any person who produces and stores or exchanges
motor fuel at a terminal facility and who sells or transfers motor fuel
through the loading rack at such terminal facility, and includes an
affiliate of such refiner with respect to such affiliate's sale of motor
fuel.
(g) "Relevant geographic market" means the geographic area of
effective competition.
(h) "Retail outlet" means a facility, including land and improvements,
where motor fuel is offered for sale at retail to the public.
(i) "Sale" or "sell" means any retail transfer, gift, barter, sale,
offer for sale, or advertisement for sale in any manner or by any means
whatsoever.
(j) "Supplier" means any person who conveys, transports, or otherwise
causes motor fuel to be delivered to another person, except that any
person who conveys, transports, or otherwise causes motor fuel to be
delivered as part of a retail sale shall not be considered a supplier.
(k) "Terminal facility" means any inland, waterfront, or offshore
appurtenance on land used for the purpose of receiving, storing,
handling, or transferring motor fuel, but does not include bulk storage
facilities owned or operated by a wholesaler.
(l) "Wholesaler" means any person, other than a refiner or dealer, who
purchases motor fuel at a terminal facility and supplies motor fuel to
retail outlets.
(m) "Zone pricing" means the arbitrary price differences within the
relevant geographic market, based on the posted terminal price or where
the effect is to injure competition.
2. No wholesaler shall engage in zone pricing with respect to any
motor fuel of like grade or quality.
3. In addition to any other remedies provided by law, whenever there
shall be a violation of this section, application may be made by the
attorney general in the name of the people of the state of New York to a
court or justice having jurisdiction by a special proceeding to issue an
injunction, and, upon notice to the defendant of not less than five
days, to enjoin and restrain the continuance of such violations; and if
it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court or justice that the
defendant has, in fact, violated this section, an injunction may be
issued by such court or justice, enjoining or restraining any further
violation, without requiring proof that any person has, in fact, been
injured or damaged thereby. In any such proceedings, the court may make
allowances to the attorney general as provided in paragraph six of

subdivision (a) of section eighty-three hundred three of the civil
practice law and rules, and direct restitution. Whenever the court shall
determine that a violation of this section has occurred, the court may
impose a civil penalty of not more than ten thousand dollars for each
violation. In connection with any such proposed application, the
attorney general is authorized to take proof and make a determination of
the relevant facts and to issue subpoenas in accordance with the civil
practice law and rules.

Structure New York Laws