State of Delaware, ex rel. Kathleen Jennings, Attorney General of the State of Delaware v. BP America Inc.

Superior Court of Delaware

State of Delaware, ex rel. Kathleen Jennings, Attorney General of the State of Delaware v. BP America Inc.

DecidedMarch 26, 2024

DocketN20C-09-097 MMJ CCLD

StatusPublished

This text of State of Delaware, ex rel. Kathleen Jennings, Attorney General of the State of Delaware v. BP America Inc. (State of Delaware, ex rel. Kathleen Jennings, Attorney General of the State of Delaware v. BP America Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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State of Delaware, ex rel. Kathleen Jennings, Attorney General of the State of Delaware v. BP America Inc., (Del. Ct. App. 2024).

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Opinion

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. )

1 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

2 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.

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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. )

1 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

2 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.

5 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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