California drivers sued fuel chains over AI pump pricing scheme

California consumers sued fuel-station operators including Walmart, Marathon Petroleum, BP and 7-Eleven, alleging they used pricing software from Kalibrate Fuel Systems to illegally raise pump prices across the state. The complaint, filed June 22 in federal court in Sacramento, says the companies shared confidential data through the system, which then automatically adjusted prices at more than 1,700 stations. Plaintiffs claim the tool added as much as 22 cents a gallon for gasoline and 33 cents for diesel in a state where prices have topped $7 a gallon in some areas. The case is one of the first brought under California's 2025 AB 325, which bars shared pricing algorithms. In May, the state's fuel watchdog subpoenaed some station owners over high prices.