Motorists sue oil titans, retailers over ‘hot fuel’ losses

Think gas is expensive? It’s even more expensive on hot summer days. Gasoline expands as temperatures rise. That means motorists get less energy from a gallon of so-called “hot fuel” than from a cold one.

When Brent Donaldson, a restaurant owner in Kansas City, Mo., discovered that fact earlier this year, he joined hundreds of consumers in more than a dozen states who are suing oil companies and gas retailers, alleging that they have been overcharged by billions of dollars.


“The consumer is repeatedly being ripped off and not given a fair deal,” Donaldson says. He says he spends $60 a week filling his Acura.

The lawsuits allege that higher temperatures of gasoline cost consumers between 3 and 9 cents a gallon extra at the pump.

The litigation seeks to force the oil industry to install gas pumps that have temperature-compensation equipment.

USA Today