ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced lawsuits on Thursday against five St. Louis-area retailers that allegedly sold engine products that did not contain the volume or quality of the contents advertised on their label.
Quality Market, Kenny's Discount, Phillips 66, Shell and Unique Mark allegedly violated a stop-sale order issued by the Missouri Department of Agriculture's Division of Weights and Measures. The division issued the stop-sale order in March after inspectors found that products from the wholesaler Rock Bottom Wholesale either misrepresented their contents or had the potential of seriously damaging consumers' cars. The division issued the order to seventeen retailers and two wholesalers to stop selling 41 products.
The five retailers named in the lawsuit allegedly continued to sell the products despite the stop-sale order.
"People who rely on their car to get to work or to take their kids to school should not have to face catastrophic engine failure because they tried to save money," Koster said. "Missouri consumers deserve engine products that live up to the representations made on the bottle."
Koster's lawsuits seek to permanently ban the five retailers from selling the banned products in the future and obtain restitution for consumers who bought the products. The suits also seek civil penalties and attorney costs.
"Our investigation remains ongoing, particularly into the source of these products," Koster said. "While we have removed deceptive products from these 17 stores, consumers should be aware that inspectors continue to check for these damaging products in other stores throughout the state."
Rock Bottom Wholesale allegedly sold motor oil that was unlabeled, used and contained metallic sediment; antifreeze products that contained medical-waste methanol; and products that were under volume.
Mo. AG says five companies alleged to have violated stop-sale order
