Court Opinion

ID: 9954669
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-26 18:03:28.263323+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:12:09.898775
License: Public Domain

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

STATE OF DELAWARE, ex rel.        )
KATHLEEN JENNINGS, Attorney       )
General of the State of Delaware, )
                                  )
       Plaintiff,                 )
                                  )
       v.                         ) C.A. No. N20C-09-097 MMJ CCLD
                                  )
BP AMERICA INC., BP P.L.C.,       )
CHEVRON CORPORATION,              )
CHEVRON U.S.A. INC.,              )
CONOCOPHILLIPS,                   )
CONOCOPHILLIPS COMPANY,           )
PHILLIPS 66, PHILLIPS 66 COMPANY, )
EXXON MOBIL CORPORATION,          )
EXXONMOBIL OIL CORPORATION,       )
XTO ENERGY INC., HESS             )
CORPORATION, MARATHON OIL         )
CORPORATION, MARATHON OIL         )
COMPANY, MARATHON                 )
PETROLEUM CORPORATION,            )
MARATHON PETROLEUM                )
COMPANY LP, SPEEDWAY LLC,         )
MURPHY OIL CORPORATION,           )
MURPHY USA INC., ROYAL DUTCH )
SHELL PLC, SHELL OIL COMPANY,     )
CITGO PETROLEUM CORPORATION, )
TOTAL S.A., TOTAL SPECIALITIES    )
USA INC., OCCIDENTAL              )
PETROLEUM CORPORATION,            )
DEVON ENERGY CORPORATION,         )
APACHE CORPORATION, CNX           )
RESOURCES CORPORATION,            )
CONSOL ENERGY INC., OVINTIV,      )
INC., and AMERICAN PETROLEUM      )
INSTITUTE,                        )
                                  )
       Defendants.                )

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                                    ORDER
Christian Douglas Wright, Esq., Jameson A.L. Tweedie, Esq., Ralph K. Durstein
III, Esq., Sawyer M. Traver, Esq., Deputy Attorneys General, Wilmington, DE,
Victor M. Sher, Esq. (Argued), Matthew K. Edling, Esq. (Argued), Stephanie D.
Biehl, Esq. (Argued), Sher Edling LLP, San Francisco, CA, Attorneys for Plaintiff
State of Delaware
David E. Wilks, Esq., Wilks Law, LLC, Wilmington, DE, Theodore J. Boutrous,
Jr., Esq. (Argued), William E. Thomson, Esq., Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Los
Angeles, CA, Andrea E. Neuman, Esq., Dunn & Crutcher LLP, New York, NY,
Thomas G. Hungar, Esq., Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Washington, DC, Joshua D.
Dick, Esq., Dunn & Crutcher LLP, San Francisco, CA, Attorneys for Defendants
Chevron Corporation and Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Kenneth J. Nachbar, Esq., Alexandra M. Cumings, Esq., Morris Nichols Arsht &
Tunnell, Wilmington, DE, Nathan P. Eimer, Esq., Pamela R. Hanebutt, Esq., Lisa
S. Meyer, Esq., Eimer Stahl LLP, Chicago, IL, Robert E. Dunn, Esq. (Argued),
Eimer Stahl LLP, San Jose, CA, Attorneys for Defendants CITGO Petroleum
Corporation
Colleen D. Shields, Esq., Patrick M. Brannigan, Esq., Eckert Seamans Cherin &
Mellott, LLC, Wilmington, DE, Tristan L. Duncan, Esq., Daniel B. Rogers, Esq.,
William F. Northrip, Esq., Shook, Hady & Bacon L.L.P., Kansas City, MO,
Attorneys for Defendant Murphy USA Inc.
Kevin J. Mangan, Esq., Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, Wilmington, DE,
Jeremiah J. Anderson, Esq. (Argued), McGuireWoods LLP, Houston, TX, Kathryn
M. Barber, Esq., McGuireWoods LLP, Richmond, VA, Attorneys for American
Petroleum Institute
Mackenzie M. Wrobel, Esq., Coleen W. Hill, Esq., Duane Morris LLP,
Wilmington, DE, Michael F. Healy, Esq., Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP, San
Francisco, CA, Michael L. Fox, Esq., Duane Morris LLP, San Francisco, CA,
Attorneys for Defendant OVINTIV INC.
Daniel J. Brown, Esq., Alexandra M. Joyce, Esq., McCarter & English LLP,
Wilmington, DE, Steven M. Bauer, Esq., Margaret A. Tough, Esq., Latham &
Watkins LLP, San Francisco, CA, Jameson R. Jones, Esq., Daniel R. Brody, Esq.,
Bartlit Beck LLP, Denver, CO, Attorneys for Defendants ConocoPhillips and
ConocoPhillips Company

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Daniel J. Brown, Esq., Alexandra M. Joyce, Esq., McCarter & English LLP,
Wilmington, DE, Steven M. Bauer, Esq., Margaret A. Tough, Esq., Latham &
Watkins LLP, San Francisco, CA, Attorneys for Defendants Phillip 66 and Phillips
66 Company
Michael A. Barlow, Esq., Abrams & Bayliss LLP, Wilmington, DE, Robert P.
Reznick, Esq. (Argued), Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, Washington, DC,
James Stengel, Esq., Marc R. Shapiro, Esq., Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP,
New York, NY, Catherine Y. Lui, Esq., Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, San
Francisco, CA, Attorneys for Defendant Marathon Oil Corporation
Robert W. Whetzel, Esq., Blake Rohrbacher, Esq., Alexandra M. Ewing, Esq.,
Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., Wilmington, DE, Anna Rotman, Esq. (Argued),
Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Houston, TX, Attorneys for Defendant TotalEnergies, SE
Steven L. Caponi, Esq., Matthew B. Goeller, Esq., Megan E. O’Connor, Esq.,
K&L Gates LLP, Wilmington, DE, David C. Frederick, Esq., James M. Webster,
III, Esq., Daniel S. Severson, Esq., Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick,
P.L.L.C., Washington, D.C., Counsel for Shell plc (f/k/a Royal Dutch Shell plc)
and Shell USA, Inc. (f/k/a Shell Oil Company)
Catherine A. Gaul, Esq., Ashby & Geddes, Wilmington, DE, Nancy G. Milburn,
Esq., Diana E. Reiter, Esq. (Argued), Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, New
York, NY, Jonathan W. Hughes, Esq., Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, San
Francisco, CA, John D. Lombardo, Esq., Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, Los
Angeles, CA, Attorneys for Defendants BP America Inc. and BP p.l.c.
Jeffrey L. Moyer, Esq., Christine D. Haynes, Esq., Richards, Layton & Finger,
P.A., Wilmington, DE, Kevin Orsini, Esq., Vanessa A. Lavely, Esq., Cravath,
Swaine & Moore LLP, New York, NY, Attorneys for Defendant Occidental
Petroleum Corporation
Antoinette D. Hubbard, Esq., Stephanie A. Fox, Esq., Maron Marvel Bradley
Anderson & Tardy LLC, Wilmington, DE, Shannon S. Broome, Esq., Ann Marie
Mortimer, Esq., Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, San Francisco, CA, Shawn Patrick
Regan, Esq. (Argued), Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, New York, NY, Attorneys for
Defendants Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Marathon Petroleum Company LP,
and Speedway LLC
Christian J. Singewald, Esq., White and Williams LLP, Wilmington, DE, Joy C.
Fuhr, Esq., Brian D. Schmalzbach, Esq., W. Cole Geddy, Esq., McGuireWoods
LLP, Richmond, VA, Attorneys for Defendant Devon Energy Corporation

                                        3
Paul D. Brown, Esq., Chipman Brown Cicero & Cole, LLP, Wilmington, DE,
Tracy A. Roman, Esq. (Argued), Crowell & Moring LLP, Washington, DC, Honor
R. Costello, Esq., Crowell & Moring LLP, New York, NY, Attorneys for
Defendant CONSOL Energy Inc.
Beth Moskow Schnoll, Esq., Ballard Spahr LLP, Wilmington, DE, Noel J.
Francisco, Esq., David M. Morrell, Esq. (Argued), Jones Day, Washington, DC,
David C. Kiernan, Esq., Jones Day, San Francisco, CA, Attorneys or Defendant
CNX Resources Corp.
Daniel A. Mason, Esq., Matthew D. Stachel, Esq., Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton
& Garrison LLP, Wilmington, DE, Theodore V. Wells, Jr., Esq., Daniel J. Toal,
Esq., Yahonnes Cleary, Esq., Caitlin E. Grusauskas, Esq., Paul, Weiss, Rifkind,
Wharton & Garrison LLP, New York, NY, Attorneys for Defendants Exxon Mobil
Corporation, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, and XTO Energy Inc.
Robert W. Whetzel, Esq., Richards Layton & Finger, P.A., Wilmington, DE,
Patrick W. Mizell, Esq., Matthew R. Stamme, Esq., Stephanie L. Noble, Esq.,
Brooke A. Noble, Esq. (Argued), Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., Houston, TX, Mortimer
H. Hartwell, Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., San Francisco, CA, Attorneys for Apache
Corporation
Joseph J. Bellew, Esq., Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, Wilmington, DE, J. Scott
Janoe, Esq. (Argued), Baker Botts L.L.P., Houston, TX, Megan Berge, Esq.,
Sterling Marchand, Esq., Baker Botts L.L.P., Washington, DC, Attorneys for
Defendant Hess Corporation and Defendant Murphy Oil Corporation

JOHNSTON, J.

                                       4
      On the Applications for Certification of Interlocutory Appeal filed by
         Defendants Apache Corporation, CNX Resources Corporation,
    Citgo Petroleum Corporation, Murphy USA, Inc., and Consul Energy, Inc.
                                    DENIED

                   Defendants’ Motion for Leave to File a Reply
                              DENIED AS MOOT

                                     ORDER

      The Court issued an Opinion dated January 9, 2024. The Court granted in

part and denied in part various motions to dismiss.

      The State of Delaware moved for an order certifying an interlocutory appeal

to the Delaware Supreme Court.           Certain Defendants filed pleadings entitled

Conditional Cross-Application for Certification of Interlocutory Appeal. By Order

dated February 14, 2024, the Court denied the State’s Application for Certification

of Interlocutory Appeal and Defendants’ Conditional Cross-Application for

Certification of Interlocutory Appeal.

      On a parallel track, certain Defendants moved for reargument. By Order dated

February 12, 2024, the Court denied reargument. Meanwhile, certain Defendants

filed notices of appeal from interlocutory orders in the Supreme Court.

      As a result of these overlapping motions, applications and notices, the

deadlines (and even available jurisdiction) for filing applications and responses and

this Court’s action, on the pending applications for interlocutory appeal, became

unclear. Additionally, the moving Defendants in the most recent interlocutory

appeal applications have moved for leave to file a reply.

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      The State has opposed the pending applications on the grounds that the Rule

42(b)(iii) factors have not been satisfied, and the applications are untimely.

      The Court finds that the most recent applications for interlocutory appeal raise

essentially the same arguments asserted in the prior applications.

      THEREFORE, for the reasons set forth in the Court’s February 14, 2024

Order, the Applications for Certification of Interlocutory Appeal filed by Defendants

Apache Corporation, CNX Resources Corporation, Citgo Petroleum Corporation,

Murphy USA, Inc., and Consul Energy, Inc. are hereby DENIED. Defendants’

Motion for Leave to File a Reply is hereby DENIED AS MOOT.

      IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated:       March 26, 2024                  /s/ Mary M. Johnston
                                        The Honorable Mary M. Johnston

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