Boater
Sues Oil Companies Over Ethanol
A
Florida boat owner last week filed a lawsuit against US oil companies,
alleging they sold ethanol-blended fuel to boaters while knowing it
would cause damage to engines. Florida boat owner Erick Kelecseny
claims that his boat engine and fuel tank were damaged by
ethanol-blended gas.
His lawsuit alleges that gas companies including Chevron, Exxon Mobil
and Shell, continued to sell ethanol-blended fuel to the marine
industry after they knew it would cause damage to the motors. Kelecseny
is seeking punitive damages and class-action status to include all
Florida boat owners whose vessels were damaged by the blended gas.
The
Florida lawsuit follows a second class-action lawsuit filed last April
in California. "The oil companies know this fuel is harmful, but
they're keeping it on the market to pump up profits," Brian Kabateck,
an attorney in the California case, told IBI in April. "But it costs
consumers thousands of dollars in repairs."
Kelecseny's attorney, Brian Ferguson, told the Tampa Tribune that the
ethanol in the fuel Kelecseny bought disintegrated the resins in the
fibreglass tank. Those resins passed through the fuel system, and
fouled the engine.
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Posted Thursday August 21 @ 08:12 am
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