Charlotte Gas Station Sued By Attorney General For Price Gouging

CHARLOTTE, NC — A Charlotte gas station charged customers nearly $10 a gallon during the Colonial Pipeline shutdown and violated North Carolina’s price gouging laws, according to a recent lawsuit filed by State Attorney General Josh Stein.

Stein is suing Mansa Travel Center Charlotte LLC, which is also known as Queen’s Market after the station allegedly increased the price of midgrade and premium gas during the state of emergency in May, according to a news release.

The lawsuit states that the station increased gas prices at every level, but most significantly for midgrade and premium and was reportedly charging customers $9.99 per gallon during the shutdown. The increase in price represented a 278 percent markup for midgrade and a 256 percent markup for premium, the lawsuit states. In addition, the price of regular gas was increased to $3.19 per gallon, which jumped from $3 a gallon before the shutdown took place, the attorney general’ office said.

The Colonial Pipeline was shut down for six days earlier this year, which impacted the transportation of 45 percent of the East Coast’s fuel. According to state officials, 71 percent of North Carolina gas stations were without gas during the shutdown.

The lawsuit states that Queen’s Market sold the gas to customers at the much higher cost despite the fact that it did not incur any additional costs for gasoline during the emergency. The lawsuit is seeking restitution for the customers who paid the exorbitant prices, along with civil penalties and attorney’s fees, the attorney general’s office said.

The criminal complaint, which was filed last month, indicates that the gas station’s owners admitted that they posted the $9.99 per gallon prices beginning on May 13 and that at least one customer captured video evidence she was paying that much at the pump. The complaint says that during the time the station charged the increases prices for gas, the station’s owners saw an increase of daily profits ranging from 400 percent to 1,600 percent.

Stein also sued a Durham gas station for jacking up gas prices during the shutdown. Jack’s In And Out Food Mart was sued after it reportedly increased their prices from $3.29 a gallon to nearly $5.50 a gallon during the shutdown.

Since 2018, Attorney General Stein has brought 11 lawsuits against 27 defendants under North Carolina’s price gouging statute, according to the news release. Stein has obtained nine judgments against 18 defendants, including a $274,000 settlement that was the largest price gouging settlement in the department’s history. The Department of Justice has won more than $975,000 in these judgments and settlements.