N.Y. AG announces 12 more price gouging actions

NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced 12 more enforcement actions on Thursday against gas stations that allegedly violated the New York State Price Gouging statute following Hurricane Sandy.

Schneiderman's office sent letters to 12 gas station operators, bringing the total number of targeted retailers this month to 25. The most recent retailers notified include the Port Jefferson Station-based Coastal, the Farmingdale-based BP, the Elmont-based Liberty Petroleum, the Levittown-based Ultra, the Staten Island-based Rio, the Flushing-based Getty, the Maspeth-based Gulf, the East Elmhurst-based Shell, the Ridgewood-based Sunoco, the Bronx-based Mobil, the Katonah-based Mobil and the Spring Valley-based Mobil.

"Our office will continue to take enforcement actions against price gougers because ripping off New Yorkers is against the law," Schneiderman said. "We are actively investigating the hundreds of complaints we've received from consumers of businesses preying on victims of Hurricane Sandy. There must be no tolerance for unscrupulous individuals who take advantage of New Yorkers trying to rebuild their lives."

New York's price gouging law takes effect on triggered events that abnormally disrupt the market, such as power failures, war, weather events, strikes, local or national emergencies and other causes. The law states that a price may be unconscionably excessive if the amount is a gross disparity between the price of the goods or services during the disaster versus the price in the usual course of business.

Schneiderman said additional notifications are coming as an inquiry into consumer complaints continues.