A Mississippi oil company accused of charging too much for fuel in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has won its challenge to the state’s price-gouging law after a judge ruled it unconstitutional because it’s too vague.
Attorney General Jim Hood said Thursday he would appeal the decision handed down by Winston County Chancery Judge J. Max Kilpatrick.
Kilpatrick’s ruling came in a case involving Louisville-based Fair Oil, one of two companies Hood sued in 2007. The lawsuit accused the company of gouging consumers after Katrina struck in 2005.
The law states that during an emergency, goods and services shouldn’t cost more than what’s ordinarily charged for comparable items “in the same market area at or immediately before the declaration of a state of emergency or local emergency.”
Magnolia Tribune
