Tainted Exxon Mobile Gas Ignites Class Action Lawsuit

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Hundreds of thousands of vehicles may have been affected by contaminated Exxon gasoline refined in Louisiana, causing engine damage to up to 250,000 vehicles, according to a class action lawsuit filed Thursday against Exxon Mobile Corp.

Lead plaintiff James Smith alleges in the Exxon gas class action lawsuit that Exxon told numerous sources that it sold more than 5 million gallons “of defective gas in south Louisiana, and particularly in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area, that damaged engines upon use.” However, the company allegedly did not disclose or was unable to identify what the defect was, which — if publicized — reportedly would have enabled vehicle owners to choose what gasoline was the best option to purchase.

The bad Exxon gas was distributed to Exxon gas stations and other retail outlets in Louisiana between April 1, 2013 and April 1, 2014, according to the Exxon class action lawsuit.

“Exxon has apologized for the damage its defective product has caused, but has not released the details of the defect, or the location of the sale of the defective and dangerous fuel,” the Exxon class action lawsuit says.

Smith alleges that is vehicle, like hundreds of thousands of others, was damaged in an undisclosed fashion. However, per the advertisements promulgated by Exxon Mobil, its “TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline is the premier standard for gasoline performance…TOP TIER Detergent Gasoline help drivers avoid lower quality gasoline which can leave deposits on critical engine parts, which reduces engine performance.”

Instead, the company’s “atypical” fuel led to the same damage that it warned could occur if consumers bought “lower quality gasoline” and, as a result, “actively harmed vital engine parts and rendered the engine inoperable,” the class action lawsuit says.

Part of the problem that Smith and other putative plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit face is that the company has not identified where this defective Exxon gasoline was sold, or what about its composition can cause problems.

The former is an important point for vehicle owners worried about Exxon gas damage. Many people do not realize that gas stations operated by different companies in the same general vicinity do not necessarily carry fuel from each company’s distributors or refiners. So while there are Exxon Mobil stations in and around Baton Rouge, there are also stations operated by Chevron and RaceTrac, to name just two, that could be distributing the defective Exxon gas. Without more information, it is unclear where those 5 million gallons of fuel ended up.

On behalf of the putative class, the class action lawsuit seeks damages on a count of negligence, citing a state statute that notes “[e]very act whatever of man that causes damage to another obliges him by whose fault it happened to repair it.” Based on the legal team’s reading, that should require the company to pay for the value of the fuel as well as any repairs that may be required for the vehicles of the class that were damaged as a result of Exxon defective fuel damage.

Smith is represented by class action lawyers Daniel E. Becnel Jr., Salvadore Christina Jr. and Toni Becnel Law Firm LLC.

The Exxon Defective Fuel Class Action Lawsuit is James Smith v. Exxon Mobil Corp., et al., Case No. 14-cv-00218, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Louisiana.