Blocker v. Conocophillips Co.

378 F. Supp. 3d 1066
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedMay 6, 2019
DocketCase No. CIV-17-248-G
StatusPublished

This text of 378 F. Supp. 3d 1066 (Blocker v. Conocophillips Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Blocker v. Conocophillips Co., 378 F. Supp. 3d 1066 (W.D. Okla. 2019).

Opinion

CHARLES B. GOODWIN, United States District Judge *1068This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 125) filed pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In their Motion, Plaintiffs seek summary adjudication of their claims of negligence per se and public nuisance per se , as well as certain affirmative defenses. The Motion is fully briefed and ready for disposition. See Def.'s Resp. (Doc. No. 159); Pls.' Reply (Doc. No. 179).

STANDARD OF DECISION

Summary judgment is a means of testing in advance of trial whether the available evidence would permit a reasonable jury to find in favor of the party asserting a claim. The Court must grant summary judgment when "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). "An issue is 'genuine' if there is sufficient evidence on each side so that a rational trier of fact could resolve the issue either way." Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , 144 F.3d 664, 670 (10th Cir. 1998). "An issue of fact is 'material' if under the substantive law it is essential to the proper disposition of the claim." Id. The Tenth Circuit requires that the moving party show "beyond a reasonable doubt that it is entitled to summary judgment." Pelt v. Utah , 539 F.3d 1271, 1280 (10th Cir. 2008) (internal quotation marks omitted).

A party that moves for summary judgment has the burden of showing that the undisputed material facts require judgment as a matter of law in its favor. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). "When the moving party does not have the ultimate burden of persuasion at trial, it has both the initial burden of production on a motion for summary judgment and the burden of establishing that summary judgment is appropriate as a matter of law." Pelt , 539 F.3d at 1280. The movant can satisfy its initial burden by producing "affirmative evidence negating an essential element of the non-moving party's claim, or by showing that the nonmoving party does not have enough evidence to carry its burden of persuasion at trial." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). If the movant carries this initial burden, the nonmovant must then "go beyond the pleadings and designate specific facts" that would be admissible in evidence in the event of trial "so as to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case in order to survive summary judgment." Self v. Crum , 439 F.3d 1227, 1230 (10th Cir. 2006) ; see Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1)(A). The Court must then determine "whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby , 477 U.S. 242, 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

Parties may establish the existence or nonexistence of a material disputed fact by:

• citing to "depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations ..., admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials" in the record; or *1069• demonstrating "that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact."

Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1)(A)-(B). While the Court views the evidence and the inferences drawn from the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, see Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. of Pittsburg, Inc. v. PepsiCo, Inc. , 431 F.3d 1241, 1255 (10th Cir. 2005), "[t]he mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [nonmovant's] position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the [trier of fact] could reasonably find for the [nonmovant]." Liberty Lobby , 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

When the moving party has the burden of proof at trial, however, "a more stringent summary judgment standard applies." Pelt , 539 F.3d at 1280. The moving party cannot carry its burden by "pointing to parts of the record that [the movant] believes illustrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Id. Rather, to obtain summary judgment on its own claim or defense, a movant "must establish, as a matter of law, all essential elements of the issue before the nonmovant can be obligated to bring forward any specific facts alleged to rebut the movant's case." Id.

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Related

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Adler v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
144 F.3d 664 (Tenth Circuit, 1998)
Self v. Oliva
439 F.3d 1227 (Tenth Circuit, 2006)
Pelt v. Utah
539 F.3d 1271 (Tenth Circuit, 2008)
Hunt v. Cromartie
526 U.S. 541 (Supreme Court, 1999)
Lockhart v. Loosen
1997 OK 103 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1997)
Union Texas Petroleum Corp. v. Jackson
909 P.2d 131 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 1995)
Hamilton v. Allen
1993 OK 46 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1993)
Fischer v. Atlantic Richfield Co.
774 F. Supp. 616 (W.D. Oklahoma, 1989)
Hotel 71 Mezz Lender LLC v. National Retirement Fund
778 F.3d 593 (Seventh Circuit, 2015)
Texas Co. v. Mosshamer
1935 OK 697 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1935)
Texas Company v. Taylor
1936 OK 431 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1936)
Howard v. Zimmer, Inc.
2013 OK 17 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
378 F. Supp. 3d 1066, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/blocker-v-conocophillips-co-okwd-2019.