Oil Company To Pay Customer Reparations

In what may prove to be a pivotal ruling, Reykjavík district court recently sentenced Ker, former owners of the Esso oil company, to pay a former customer, Sigurður Hreinsson, damages to the sum of 15.00 ISK for his losses on account of the company's illegal co-operation with other Icelandic oil distributors. Ker was also sentenced to pay Hreinsson 500.000 ISK in court costs. The company has already stated its intentions to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.

Hreinsson filed his claim on Ker in the aftermath of an Icelandic competition authorities ruling, which deemed that the country's major oil companies had illegally co-operated from 1993-2001. He provided evidence showing that he bought gasoline from Esso to the amount of 1.2 million ISK during a six-year period from 1995-2001, and his main claim was for reparations of 180.000 ISK. Hreinsson suit was firmly backed up by The Consumers' Association of Iceland .

Given that the supreme court does not reverse the ruling, it may be assumed that Ker and the other illegally co-operating companies, Olíuverzlun Íslands and Skeljungur, will face countless charges from customers wishing to recoup some of the money they lost during the companies' reign of corruption in the 90s.

See also:

Oil Companies Lose Court Battle With Reykjavík, Public Transit.