Mobil Pipe Line Company and ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, LLC v. Sunoco Pipeline, L.P., Orbit Gulf Coast NGL Exports, LLC, and Energy Transfer GC NGL Pipelines, LP F/K/A Lone Star NGL Pipeline, LP

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 13, 2024
Docket09-23-00075-CV
StatusPublished

This text of Mobil Pipe Line Company and ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, LLC v. Sunoco Pipeline, L.P., Orbit Gulf Coast NGL Exports, LLC, and Energy Transfer GC NGL Pipelines, LP F/K/A Lone Star NGL Pipeline, LP (Mobil Pipe Line Company and ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, LLC v. Sunoco Pipeline, L.P., Orbit Gulf Coast NGL Exports, LLC, and Energy Transfer GC NGL Pipelines, LP F/K/A Lone Star NGL Pipeline, LP) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Mobil Pipe Line Company and ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, LLC v. Sunoco Pipeline, L.P., Orbit Gulf Coast NGL Exports, LLC, and Energy Transfer GC NGL Pipelines, LP F/K/A Lone Star NGL Pipeline, LP, (Tex. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals

Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont

________________

NO. 09-23-00075-CV ________________

MOBIL PIPE LINE COMPANY AND EXXONMOBIL PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC

V.

SUNOCO PIPELINE, L.P., ORBIT GULF COAST NGL EXPORTS, LLC, AND ENERGY TRANSFER GC NGL PIPELINES, LP F/K/A LONE STAR NGL PIPELINE, LP

________________________________________________________________________

On Appeal from the 75th District Court Liberty County, Texas Trial Cause No. 23DC-CV-00046 ________________________________________________________________________

MEMORANDUM OPINION

In this accelerated appeal, Mobil Pipe Line Company and ExxonMobil

Pipeline Company, LLC (Exxon) appeal a temporary injunction granted by the trial

court in favor of Sunoco Pipeline, L.P., Orbit Gulf Coast NGL Exports, LLC, and

Energy Transfer GC NGL Pipelines, LP f/k/a Lone Star NGL Pipeline, LP (Energy

1 Transfer).1 In September 2023, Energy Transfer filed a motion with this Court

requesting that the appeal be dismissed, arguing the appeal had become moot,

because the construction of the pipeline the subject of the temporary injunction was

complete. In response, Exxon rejected Energy Transfer’s request, arguing that

although this construction had been completed, there are still judiciable issues before

this Court that need to be decided. On appeal, Exxon acknowledges that some

sections of the temporary injunction are moot because of the completed construction

but argues that the issuance of the temporary injunction resulted in millions of

dollars in damages to Exxon and that the language in two paragraphs extends beyond

the temporary injunction because it is vague, overbroad, and in violation of Texas

Rule of Civil Procedure 683. We reverse and remand.

Background

The undisputed facts are as follows. Energy Transfer owns and operates four

pipelines in Liberty County. Two of the pipelines are 12 and 14 inches in diameter

and were classified by the parties as “vintage” pipelines. Two other pipelines are 20

inches in diameter and were classified as “20 inch” pipelines. Exxon began a pipeline

project entitled the “Beaumont Connector Pipeline Project” that, upon its

completion, would span 57 miles underground and allow the company to move

1 On appeal, the parties agree the names of the individual companies are of no concern to the outcome of the accelerated appeal, and we adopt the global names the parties use in their briefs to the Court as identifiers of the appellants and appellees. 2 petroleum products to the Beaumont refining market. Before construction, Exxon

met with Energy Transfer about this project, Exxon’s easements, and their proximity

to Energy Transfer’s existing pipelines and easements.

Energy Transfer filed suit against Exxon contending that Exxon’s activities

and “refus[al] to comply with [industry-]standard safety requirements[]” in building

the Beaumont pipeline “increas[ed] the risk of a break, leak, rupture, or other

damage” to their pipelines, forcing Entergy Transfer to file suit and seek an

injunction to stop “further unsafe construction practices by Exxon.”

First, the trial court granted a temporary restraining order against Exxon.

Exxon challenged the TRO, and the matter was set for a temporary injunction

hearing. In the interim, Energy Transfer continued to assert that Exxon continued to

exercise unsafe construction practices in violation of the TRO and requested an

emergency hearing and modification of the temporary restraining order.

Subsequently, the parties reached a settlement, executing the “Compromise &

Settlement Agreement” (Settlement Agreement) and modifying the temporary

restraining order to include the Settlement Agreement. The trial court issued a new

temporary restraining order incorporating the Settlement Agreement. Energy

Transfer continued to allege that Exxon violated the Settlement Agreement and the

TRO by interfering with Energy Transfer’s easement rights during the construction

of the Beaumont Pipeline. Energy Transfer then filed pleadings to have the trial court

3 enforce the Settlement Agreement and requested injunctive relief. The trial court set

the case for another temporary injunction hearing for March 2023. At the temporary

injunction hearing, the trial court heard testimony and ultimately issued a temporary

injunction. Exxon timely filed this interlocutory appeal.

Before this opinion was issued, Energy Transfer made a request with this

Court asking for a dismissal, arguing the controversy between the parties had

become moot. According to Energy Transfer, the construction project at the heart of

the injunction was completed, rendering the temporary injunction moot. We

permitted Exxon to respond to the motion, in which Exxon contested the mootness

of the appeal, stating that there are still portions of the temporary injunction that

remain “active” after completing the construction project and damages Exxon

sustained from the “egregious” temporary injunction.

Mootness

When an appeal is moot, we must dismiss it, because appellate courts lack

jurisdiction to decide moot controversies. See Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n v.

Jones, 1 S.W.3d 83, 86 (Tex. 1999) (citation omitted). Since mootness implicates

our jurisdiction to consider this appeal, we address it first.

Exxon acknowledges in its response that portions of the temporary injunction

are rendered moot by the completion of the pipeline construction but argues that

paragraphs 8(5) and 8(6) of the temporary injunction live on beyond the completion

4 of the pipeline. Exxon contends that the language in the temporary order “contains

commands that make no mention of construction and extend beyond its

completion[,]” and the temporary injunction “prohibits Exxon from ‘interfering’

(whatever that means) with the Energy Transfer’s easements.” According to Exxon,

both parties have competing legal rights to easements in the areas surrounding the

pipelines owned by both Exxon and Energy Transfer. In its original brief, Exxon

argued that paragraphs 8(5) and 8(6) are “[v]ague, [c]onclusory, and [o]verbroad[,]”

and in violation of Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 683. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 683.

Exxon also contends that it sustained damages from the issuance of the temporary

injunction because the trial court abused its discretion by arbitrarily setting Energy

Transfer’s bond at $100,000.

Although Energy Transfer asserts the controversy between the parties is moot

because of the completion of the Beaumont pipeline, our review of the temporary

injunction does not reveal that its terms were limited to the duration of the pipeline

construction. As we explain below, we agree with Exxon that there are still live

controversies to be addressed in the temporary injunction and the appeal is not moot,

maintaining our jurisdiction to determine these issues on appeal. See Wimbrey v.

Worldventures Mktg., LLC, No. 05-19-01520-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 10025,

**11-13 (Tex. App.—Dallas Dec. 17, 2020, no pet.) (mem. op.) (determining that

5 although parts of the injunction were moot due to the passage of time, some

controversies extended past the expiration of the moot provisions).

Standard of Review

“A temporary injunction’s purpose is to preserve the status quo of the

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Mobil Pipe Line Company and ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, LLC v. Sunoco Pipeline, L.P., Orbit Gulf Coast NGL Exports, LLC, and Energy Transfer GC NGL Pipelines, LP F/K/A Lone Star NGL Pipeline, LP, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mobil-pipe-line-company-and-exxonmobil-pipeline-company-llc-v-sunoco-texapp-2024.