Oct. 27--An attorney for Exxon Mobil Corp. argued yesterday in federal court for the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by dozens of Maryland gas station operators who have sued the petroleum giant for making moves to sell their stations in a way that they say could violate federal and state laws and possibly force them out of their own businesses.

The dispute between the operators and Exxon Mobil Corp. was sparked by a decision the company made in June 2008 to sell off gas stations it still owned and leased to the small-business owners who ran them essentially under a franchise system. Exxon Mobil wanted to exit the direct-retail gasoline market because of its hyper-competitiveness and low profit margins, and it has sought to sell its holdings to other smaller companies, such as distributors, which would continue to sell gasoline under its brand name.

The station operators claim that Exxon Mobil should give them the first chance to buy the stations that they lease and operate from the oil refiner, under a federal law known as the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act.

But Exxon Mobil's attorney, Mark Lillie, argued that Exxon Mobil hasn't yet moved to sell the properties of the 55 dealers who filed the lawsuit, so the lawsuit and a temporary restraining order weren't necessary.

"The essence of the case is they're concerned something might happen in the future, but hasn't happened yet," Lillie told Judge Alexander Williams Jr.

Harry C. Storm, who represents the 55 station operators, said in court that Exxon Mobil's contractual language with its station operators went "way too far," forcing them to give up basic rights as gasoline dealers that were enshrined in federal and state law. "The dealers have seen this coming," Storm told Williams.

Dozens of Exxon Mobil gas station operators in Maryland sat in a courtroom during a hearing at the District Court House in Greenbelt yesterday afternoon.

After Exxon Mobil announced its intention last year to begin selling off its gas station assets in several states, the Maryland station operators formed Local Dealers United LLC to protect their interests.

At the time of the announcement of its plan to sell the stations in coming years, Exxon Mobil had about 12,000 branded stations in the United States, but owned only about 2,200 of them, according to published reports.

Of those 2,200, about 1,400 were operated by dealers and the remaining 800 were owned and operated by Exxon Mobil. In Maryland, about 170 gas stations were run by station operators who had leased the businesses from Exxon Mobil, according to Merrill.