Judge Tells Exxon to Halt Southland Retail Pullout : Energy: A hearing will be held Nov. 20 to rule on other actions by the oil giant that dealers say will run them.

Exxon Corp. gasoline dealers who sued to stop the oil giant from abandoning the Southern California retail market have won a judge’s order blocking the exodus until a trial is held.

Exxon’s domestic oil and gas division said in May that it would stop selling motor fuel at its 156 stations in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties this fall. It was one of a series of cutbacks by the oil company to try to keep costs down.

However, in a Friday ruling that was made public Monday, U.S. District Judge Robert M. Takasugi ordered Exxon not to terminate any franchise agreement with the dealers until the case is settled.

Takasugi also ordered the company to start selling them gasoline on credit again, rather than insisting on cash payments, until a Nov. 20 hearing.

At that hearing, Takasugi could order Exxon to halt the cash payment requirement and other actions that the dealers say will drive them to ruin.

Those include refusing to allow customers to use Exxon credit cards, threatening to remove equipment from premises, ceasing rebate and incentive programs for dealers, raising prices to non-competitive levels and denying the dealers field support and maintenance.

The suit contends that dealers were fooled into investing an average of $350,000 in their stations by Exxon officials who knew that the company intended to pull out of the hotly competitive Southern California market.

It accuses Exxon of offering to sell the stations back to dealers at vastly inflated prices and trying to evade liability for environmental problems at the sites.

Exxon Co. USA spokesman Leslie Rogers said top executives were unavailable for comment.