Attorney General sues Durham gas station for alleged price gouging during Colonial Pipeline shutdown

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- Attorney General Josh Stein announced on Friday that he is suing Jack's In & Out Food Mart in Durham for allegedly violating the state's price gouging law during the Colonial Pipeline shutdown in May.

North Carolina gas station owner sues Colonial Pipeline for losses after ransomware attack

The lawsuit alleges that the gas station increased the price of gas from $3.29 per gallon for premium fuel on May 9, to $5.499 on May 11.

Gov. Cooper declared a state of emergency related to the shutdown on May 10.

"The defendant's price for gas increased by 60 percent, even though there was no correlating increase in how much the company was paying for fuel," Stein's office said in a statement.

The lawsuit also says that the company advertised regular gas for $2.909 a gallon, when in fact they were not selling regular gasoline at all, only premium at the elevated price.