American Petroleum Institute v. Cooper

A federal district court in North Carolina granted a summary judgment motion dismissing a challenge by an industry group to a North Carolina law requiring oil refiners and producers to sell wholesalers gasoline unblended with ethanol. The industry group had asserted that the law was preempted by federal law. The dispute arose because a federal excise tax credit allowed a party who blended ethanol with gasoline to claim a credit against its gasoline excise tax obligations to the Internal Revenue Service. The state statute had the effect of preventing suppliers from receiving the tax credit. The court held that the state law did not interfere with federal law and only required that suppliers importing gasoline into North Carolina give distributors and retailers the option to buy gasoline that was not pre-blended.