Facts: Exxon Corporation, the defendant in this case, is a multination American oil and gas corporation, with headquarters stationed in Texas. The plaintiffs, who consisted of 54 Texas franchisees, claimed that Exxon was setting their gasoline prices high on purpose. To understand more about where the franchisees were coming from, and whether Exxon was setting prices unethically, we should take a look at what exactly Exxon Corporation was doing to its retailers and franchisees Exxon markets gasoline to retailers in three ways. First, Exxon allows retailers to open a franchise with the company, but require the franchisee to purchase a certain amount of gallons of gasoline. Exxon sets these prices every month, which is known as the dealer tank wagon price. Secondly, Exxon has contracts with jobbers, which are otherwise known as distributors, and they pay a rack price, which is lower than the dealer tank wagon price. Lastly, …show more content…
The plaintiffs looked at the rack price that was charged to the jobbers, and stated that they were getting charged less than the franchisees. Many of the franchisees stated that they were selling gasoline for the price lower than what they bought it for, making their business unprofitable. Procedural History: The plaintiffs consist of 54 Texas franchisees, which believed Exxon was charging a higher price for gasoline than they were to their distributors. Issue: First of all, did Exxon Corporation set the price of gasoline gallons high for franchisees? Secondly, did they do so knowing it would hurt the profits of the franchises? Lastly, why would Exxon try to run these franchises out of business, if they were the company providing them with gallons of gasoline to sell in the first