Peavey v. United States Department of Energy

752 F. Supp. 1534, 115 Oil & Gas Rep. 58, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16783
District Court, D. Kansas·Decided November 19, 1990·No. Civ A. No. 78-1410·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

THEIS, District Judge.

This matter is before the court on the motion of third party defendant Koch Industries, Inc. (Koch) to dismiss the complaint filed by Oryx Energy Company, formerly Sun Exploration and Production Company and the successor to plaintiff Sun Oil Company (Delaware) (hereinafter “Sun”). Sun’s motion for leave to file a response to Koch’s reply (Doc. 1889) will be granted. The court does not believe oral [1535]*1535argument would be of material assistance and denies the requests for argument (Doc. 1889, 1899).

Following the filing of a counterclaim against it by the United States on behalf of the Department of Energy (DOE), Sun filed an answer and third party complaint against Koch Industries, Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Company. Doc. 1794. Sun alleges that it is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Texas, that Phillips Petroleum Company is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Oklahoma, and that Koch is a Kansas corporation with its principal place of business in Kansas. Jurisdiction is alleged under both the federal question and diversity jurisdiction statutes. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1332.

In its third party claim against Koch, Sun alleges that the DOE has claimed a deficiency for the South Moore Unit property, located in the State of Oklahoma. Sun alleges that a portion of the amount at issue represents severance taxes remitted to the State by Bigheart Pipe Line Corporation (“Bigheart”), the purchaser of crude oil from the unit, plus interest at DOE policy rates. In the event Sun is held liable to DOE for amounts attributable to Oklahoma severance taxes and interest for the South Moore Unit, Sun asserts a claim against Koch, as successor to Bigheart, for the difference between the deficiency asserted against Sun by DOE and the deficiency that would have existed had Bigh-eart obtained a refund from Oklahoma and deposited it with interest paid by the State into escrow. Alternatively, if Sun is held liable to DOE for amounts attributable to Oklahoma severance taxes and interest thereon for the South Moore Unit, Sun asserts a claim against Koch, as Bigheart’s successor, equal to the DOE’s claim against Sun.

Specifically, Sun alleges that Bigheart was the purchaser of crude oil from the South Moore Unit. Pursuant to the terms of the parties’ division order, Bigheart was required to pay severance taxes to the State of Oklahoma. After this court invalidated Ruling 1974-29, Sun began counting injection wells for the purpose of making stripper well determinations and certified the South Moore Unit as stripper. Sun asserts that it instructed Bigheart to remit the incremental taxes as suspended tax monies so that a refund could be obtained if this court’s ruling were overturned.

On June 25, 1979, Sun obtained a preliminary injunction from this court, enjoining DOE from enforcing Ruling 1974-29 against Sun for its certification of properties as stripper by counting injection wells in computing average daily production. The injunction also ordered Sun to “pay, or cause to be paid,” into the escrow “the difference between the price received by them for crude oil sold pursuant to any such certification of a property as a stripper well property and the price for which such crude oil would have been sold had the same been sold pursuant to a certification of the property as a non-stripper property.” Sun alleges that Bigheart remitted severance taxes to the State of Oklahoma on the incremental value of the stripper-well oil, but failed to obtain a refund of those incremental taxes.

In Count I, Sun alleges that by failing to obtain a refund from Oklahoma, Bigheart breached its contract with Sun. In Count II, Sun alleges that by failing to obtain a refund from Oklahoma, Bigheart breached its fiduciary duty to Sun as Sun’s agent for the purpose depositing incremental stripper-well values into the court’s escrow. In Count III, Sun alleges that by not obtaining a refund from the State of Oklahoma for deposit into the court’s escrow, Bigh-eart violated the court’s injunction of June 25,1979. In Count IV, Sun alleges that by remitting amounts representing severance taxes to the State of Oklahoma that should have been deposited into the court’s escrow, Bigheart violated the court’s injunction. Sun prayed for judgment in an amount of not less than $489,958, the difference between the deficiency asserted against Sun by the DOE and the deficiency that would have existed had Bigheart obtained a refund from the State of Oklahoma, and deposited it, with interest paid by the State, into the court's escrow.

[1536]*1536The court has recently granted the DOE’s motion for summary judgment against Sun, ordering Sun to pay the sum of $30,806,581 plus interest accruing after March 31, 1990 into the court’s escrow. Doc. 1969, 752 F.Supp. 1452 (D.Kan.1990).

The standards governing consideration of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted are clearly established. Motions to dismiss are disfavored: a complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state. a claim unless it appears beyond a doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of its claim which would entitle it to relief. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 101-02, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). In considering a motion to dismiss, the factual allegations of a complaint must be taken as true and all reasonable inferences must be indulged in favor of the plaintiff. Mitchell v. King, 537 F.2d 385, 386 (10th Cir.1976). Pleadings are to be liberally construed. Gas-a-Car, Inc. v. American Petrofina, Inc., 484 F.2d 1102, 1107 (10th Cir.1973). The question is not whether a plaintiff will ultimately prevail, but whether it is entitled to offer evidence in support of its claims. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 1686, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974).

Koch makes three arguments in support of its motion to dismiss: whether Koch is properly joined as a party under Rule 14 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; whether Sun’s breach of contract claim is barred by the statute of limitations; and whether Koch is liable to Sun for a violation of the court’s injunction.

The court will address Koch’s joinder argument, since it is dispositive. Koch argues that joinder is improper under Rule 14 because Koch is not liable to Sun for all or part of the DOE’s claim against Sun. Fed. R.Civ.P. 14(a); see Fed.R.Civ.P. 14(b) (when a counterclaim is asserted against a plaintiff, the plaintiff may bring in a third party under the circumstances which would entitle a defendant to bring in a third party under Fed.R.Civ.P.

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Peavey v. United States Department of Energy, 752 F. Supp. 1534, 115 Oil & Gas Rep. 58, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16783 (D. Kan. 1990).

752 F. Supp. 1534 (Peavey v. United States Department of Energy) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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