BuyGasCo Corporation: The Use of Alternative Costing Methods in a Predatory Pricing Lawsuit

Abstract

The purpose of the BuyGasCo Corporation (BuyGasCo) case is to introduce and evaluate the use of different costing systems as evidence in a predatory pricing lawsuit. The setting of this case is a major chain of retail motor fuel (gasoline) service centers, which has been accused of selling regular gasoline below cost (as defined under Florida state statutes). The judge accepted the volume-based method used by the plaintiff and issued an injunction disallowing BuyGasCo from selling regular gasoline below cost as concluded in the plaintiff's report. BuyGasCo retained an accounting professor from the local university as an expert witness for the defense to determine if activity-based costing (ABC) analysis would provide grounds for a possible appeal of the judge's ruling.