Gas Retailers Prevail in Putative Class Action Involving Ethanol-Blended Fuel

Shook, Hardy & Bacon represented QuikTrip Corp. in a statewide putative class action in which plaintiffs claimed that gas retailers defrauded the public by selling ethanol­-blended fuel without disclosing the ethanol content. The trial court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss, but Shook obtained certification for immediate interlocutory review of the trial judge’s order and convinced the Oklahoma Supreme Court to reverse the denial. The Oklahoma Supreme Court held that state labeling statutes defined the scope of any duty to disclose and preempted any common law duties or any duty under the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act. 

This case of first impression may be an important precedent for other defendants seeking similar safe harbors against common law duties to disclose. Rogers v. QuikTrip Corp., 230 P.3d 853 (Okla. 2010).