KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Late last week, a U.S. District Judge allowed a potential class-action lawsuit regarding so-called “hot fuel” to continue, the Associated Press reports. The lawsuit claims that U.S. oil companies overcharge consumers for gasoline during hot weather.

Judge Kathryn Vratil ruled against a motion from the defense, which includes oil companies and retailers, asking her to dismiss the lawsuit, saying that the companies had not proven that the plantiffs would lose in court.

“We believe that when we have the opportunity to present our side of the case, the case will be dismissed,” said defense attorney Martin Loring. “Every state requires us to sell gas the way we sell it and there’s nothing wrong or deceptive about that.”

Because dozens of lawsuits regarding hot fuel had been filed by consumers in 26 states, the District of Columbia and Guam, last year the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation centralized them in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., instead of having the cases all tried in separate courts.

Basically, the lawsuits contend that the oil industry’s long-standing way of pricing gasoline on a standard of 60 degrees means that during warmer weather, the expanding gasoline translates into consumers getting less energy per gallon. Some congressional legislators estimate that these changes in temperature cost consumers $1.5 billion annually.

In the oil companies’ motion to dismiss, they, along with gasoline retailers, pointed out that they should not be sued for obeying the law, which define a gallon of gasoline by volume, not energy output.

Meanwhile, the National Conference on Weights and Measures has been considering the issue from a regulatory perspective. NACS is working with others in the petroleum community to educate the Conference, and Congress, about the retail marketplace, arguing that competition — not temperature — has the greatest influence on retail prices. In such a competitive market, consumers are ensured the best value for their dollar.

In addition, NACS and its allies question the argument that consumers would benefit from having retailers install automatic temperature compensation equipment on each dispenser, estimated to cost at least $2,000 per unit. Rather, NACS has argued that a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis should be conducted before any changes be made to the manner in which petroleum products are sold.