Judgment Grows to $180 Million
The current appeal stems from the court’s 2023 adoption of a revised allocation plan that layered in additional prejudgment interest, boosting the final judgment to nearly $180 million. Sunoco asked the Tenth Circuit to vacate the ruling outright or slash it substantially — and to decertify the class along the way.
Panel Rejects Sunoco’s Bid to Unravel the Class
The judges were unswayed. During oral arguments last year, the panel had already signaled skepticism, and Monday’s opinion confirmed it: the class met the legal tests for predominance and commonality.
According to the ruling, the class demonstrated Sunoco relied on a “uniform scheme or policy” across the entire member pool. The heart of the dispute — whether Sunoco breached its obligations by failing to pay interest automatically — overshadowed any minor individualized damages questions.
Sunoco’s Record-Keeping Backfires
Sunoco argued that not all class members could be individually identified because the company lacked names for many accounts. The panel turned that argument back on the company itself.
“Sunoco failed to gather and produce the owner information it was statutorily required to maintain,” the court wrote. “Gaps in a defendant’s records cannot be used to defeat class certification.”
