California citizens who purchased gasoline between January 1 and May 31, 2025 filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the Northern District of California alleging that the five largest oil refiners in the state violated antitrust and California consumer protection law by inflating reported compliance costs for California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program and passing the inflated costs on to California gasoline consumers. The complaint described the LCFS program as “one of the most important regulatory tools in California’s fight for a clean environment” and alleged that its success in encouraging use of low-carbon transportation fuels was reliant on “accurate cost accounting” in order to provide undistorted market signals. The complaint stated that “misreporting LCFS costs harms California consumers, hinders California’s climate strategy, and interferes with California’s global leadership on carbon regulation.” The plaintiffs alleged that starting January 1, 2025 the five refiners embedded future projected compliance costs into gasoline prices months before new LCFS regulations took effect, which the plaintiffs said provided the refiners “with a statewide windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars over the five-month overcharge period.” The complaint asserted violations of the federal Sherman Act, California’s Unfair Competition Law, and the Cartwright Act (California’s principal antitrust statute). The relief sought included restitution and disgorgement, antitrust damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs.

Lawsuit alleging that California's five largest oil refiners violated antitrust and California consumer protection law by passing inflated reported compliance costs for California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard program on to gasoline consumers.

Herold v. Chevron Corp.

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Lawsuit Alleged that California Refiners Made Gasoline Consumers Pay for Inflated Low Carbon Fuel Standard Compliance Costs

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Lawsuit Alleged that California Refiners Made Gasoline Consumers Pay for Inflated Low Carbon Fuel Standard Compliance Costs

Policy instrument

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance