Chevron operator agrees to vacate Kaka'ako station
By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer
Gas station operator Frank Young, a fuel price reform advocate, will vacate the K & Y Chevron station on Jan. 15, settling a legal battle with Chevron, which has sought his removal since 1999.
Advertiser library photo • March 1998
Young, whose family for 48 years has run the station at 571 Queen St., has claimed that Chevron and other oil companies are inflating Hawai'i wholesale gas prices and passing hundreds of thousands of dollars in added costs and fees on to independent dealers.
Frank Young, operator of K & Y Chevron on Queen and South streets, measures fuel levels at the station, which he will vacate to settle a legal battle with the oil company.
The state filed a billion-dollar lawsuit against Chevron and several oil companies in 1998, claiming the companies conspired to inflate gas prices in Hawai'i. The oil companies have denied the claims and the state suit is set to go to trial early next year.
Chevron, which built the station, sued Young in September 1999, claiming he violated his dealer-lease agreement with the company. Chevron said Young repeatedly refused to open the station during hours agreed to in a three-year lease. The lease expired in May 1999.
Young countersued, accusing Chevron of singling him out for retribution. Chevron denied Young's accusations.
Young and Chevron announced the settlement yesterday in a joint press release.
"Our goal from the outset was to resolve our differences in a fair, expeditious manner, and both Chevron and Mr. Young believe this settlement achieves that," Ken Smith, Hawai'i retail marketing manager for Chevron, said in a prepared statement.
Young said he would move his auto repair shop to another site and "pursue other business opportunities."
"While I am sad to leave the station after 48 years of operation by me and my family, I am pleased that this lawsuit has been brought to a conclusion," he said.
Neither party would comment further.
