Thrifty Oil Co. v. Superior Court

A retailer sold gasoline using a two-tier pricing system, one price for cash, another for credit cards. Signs that were “clear as day” were posted at each gas station to show the difference:

[[Image here]]

This opinion explains why, on the facts of this case, the retailer’s pricing system was a permissible discount, not an unlawful surcharge.

Facts

In an action filed for herself and on behalf of others similarly situated, Rochelle C. Linder alleges that Thrifty Oil Co. violated Civil Code section 1748.1 (part of the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act of 1971, Civ. Code, § 1747 et seq.) by wrongfully imposing a surcharge on credit cardholders. More specifically, Linder claims that customers who purchased gasoline at Thrifty’s California service stations between May 1992 and May 1995 were compelled to pay an allegedly illegal surcharge of roughly four cents per gallon more than customers who paid in cash. (Linder v. Thrifty Oil Co. (2000) 23 Cal.4th 429, 434 [ 97 Cal.Rptr.2d 179 , 2 P.3d 27 ],)

Thrifty moved for summary adjudication of Linder’s surcharge cause of action. In support of its motion, Thrifty presented evidence (including a declaration by Barry W. Berkett,…