Spunar v. Clark Oil & Refining Corp. (53 Ill. App. 3d 477, 1977)

Mr. PRESIDING JUSTICE DOWNING

delivered the opinion of the court:

This is an interlocutory appeal from the grant of a “temporary injunction,” which was predicated upon a violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1973, ch. 121½, par. 261 et seq.) (hereinafter Act). Plaintiff, Letitia Spunar, instituted this class action against defendant, Clark Oil & Refining Corporation, and Clark Super 100, a Clark service station, for purported deceptive practices. Without reaching the question of whether plaintiff had presented a proper class, the court below temporarily enjoined defendant from offering for sale, advertising, or selling in Illinois any motor fuel at retail without posting on or near the gasoline pumps the amount of the selling price per gallon of such fuel exclusive of the *0.075 cents per gallon Illinois Motor Fuel Tax, the Illinois Use Tax, and the applicable local retailers’ occupation tax, if any. Enforcement of the “temporary injunction” was stayed pending appeal.

Defendant appeals from the order of the court below, raising the following issues for our review: (1) whether the Act exempts defendant’s advertising practices; (2) whether a private individual may bring an action for injunctive relief pursuant to the Act if she has suffered no pecuniary damage; (3) whether defendant’s failure to itemize the product and tax components of the total amount charged per gallon of gasoline is violative of the Act; and (4) whether the court below properly entered an order for “temporary injunction.”

In selling gasoline, certain taxes are imposed which at the time of the sale in question included Illinois Motor Fuel Tax of 7.5 cents per gallon, Federal Petroleum Products Tax of 4 cents per gallon, Illinois Use Tax of 4% of the selling price, Illinois Retailers’ Occupation Tax of 4% of the retail selling price, and Illinois Municipal Retailers’ Occupation Tax which could range from 0% to 1% of the selling price as levied by the particular municipality in which the sale occurred. Defendant displays certain price and tax information on its gasoline pumps. The legend on such pumps includes the total sale price, the number of gallons purchased, and the price per gallon. On the day of the sale under consideration, the legend stated that, “Pump Price Includes FED TAX 4$ STATE 7.5