United States v. Exxon Corporation, a Corporation, United States of America v. Shell Oil Company, a Corporation, United States of America v. Marathon Oil Company, a Corporation

628 F.2d 70
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedMay 27, 1980
Docket80-1002
StatusPublished

This text of 628 F.2d 70 (United States v. Exxon Corporation, a Corporation, United States of America v. Shell Oil Company, a Corporation, United States of America v. Marathon Oil Company, a Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Exxon Corporation, a Corporation, United States of America v. Shell Oil Company, a Corporation, United States of America v. Marathon Oil Company, a Corporation, 628 F.2d 70 (D.C. Cir. 1980).

Opinion

628 F.2d 70

202 U.S.App.D.C. 70, Energy Mgt. P 26,186

UNITED STATES of America
v.
EXXON CORPORATION, a corporation, Appellant.
UNITED STATES of America
v.
SHELL OIL COMPANY, a corporation, Appellant.
UNITED STATES of America
v.
MARATHON OIL COMPANY, a corporation, Appellant.

Nos. 80-1002, 80-1003 and 80-1018.

United States Court of Appeals,
District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued Feb. 13, 1980.
Decided Feb. 25, 1980.
Certiorari Denied May 27, 1980. See 100 S.Ct. 2940.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (D.C. Miscellaneous Nos. 79-0149, 79-0150, & 79-0217).

Donald B. Craven, Washington, D.C., with whom Mark L. Evans, Washington, D.C., was on the brief, for appellant Exxon Corp. A. M. Minotti, entered an appearance for appellant Exxon Corp.

Robert W. Steele, Washington, D.C., with whom J. Wallace Adair and Robert E. Hebda, Washington, D.C., were on the brief, for appellant Shell Oil Co.

Daniel Joseph, Washington, D. C., with whom Warren E. Connelly, Washington, D. C., and William M. Berenson, Boston, Mass., were on the brief, for appellant Marathon Oil Co.

Thomas R. Kline and Ann F. Cohen, Attys., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., with whom Alice Daniel, Asst. Atty. Gen., Charles F. C. Ruff, U. S. Atty., and William G. Kanter, Atty., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D. C., were on the brief, for appellee. H. Robert Field, Atty., Dept. of Energy, Washington D. C., also entered an appearance for appellee.

Before WRIGHT, Chief Judge, BAZELON, Senior Circuit Judge, and WILKEY, Circuit Judge.

Opinion for the court per curiam.

Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge WILKEY.

PER CURIAM:

These are appeals from a District Court order of December 19, 1979 enforcing identical administrative subpoenas duces tecum against three oil companies: Exxon Corporation, Shell Oil Company, and Marathon Oil Company. We affirm the District Court's enforcement of the subpoenas, subject to a protective order as discussed below.

On May 9, 1978 Congress passed the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (PMPA), 15 U.S.C. § 2801 et seq. (Supp.1979), Title III of which directs the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Justice Department, and other appropriate agencies, to conduct a study of subsidization of wholesale and retail motor fuel sales by vertically integrated oil companies. Id. § 2841.1 The Secretary delegated to the Director of the Office of Competition of the Department of Energy (DOE) his purported power to issue subpoenas to obtain information for the Title III study, and on January 22, 1979 the Director served on these appellants subpoenas for a broad range of documents related to subsidization.2

Appellants have challenged the subpoenas on several grounds, most notably: (1) DOE's subpoena power under Title III can derive only from Title III itself, the language of which is silent on subpoena power, and the legislative history of which demonstrates congressional intent that DOE have no subpoena power for the Title III study. (2) The general grants of subpoena power to DOE in the Department of Energy Organization Act (DOEOA), 42 U.S.C. § 7101 et seq. (Supp. I 1977), and the Federal Energy Administration Act (FEAA), 15 U.S.C. § 761 et seq. (Supp. I 1977), cannot provide subpoena power for an agency function which, like the subsidization study, stands outside and was mandated subsequent to these general acts. (3) Even if the general grant of subpoena power under the DOEOA, 42 U.S.C. § 7255 (Supp. I 1977), could apply to a later-mandated agency function, that section, which incorporates the subpoena power granted the FTC under 15 U.S.C. § 49 (1976), applies only to narrowly focused agency investigations of specific legal violations, not open-ended studies. (4) In denying administrative review of the subpoenas, DOE violated its own regulations, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the due process clause. (5) The subpoenas are too broad and burdensome to meet the demands of legitimate purpose and relevancy.

Judge Penn rejected the oil companies' claims, holding that DOE had subpoena power for the Title III study under DOEOA. We agree. Title III of PMPA rather obviously makes no provision for subpoena power for the subsidization study.3 Our analysis of DOEOA, however, reveals that DOE did not need a special grant of subpoena power for this specific study. Rather, Title III specifically instructs DOE to conduct a study which the agency would in any event be permitted to conduct under its broad general DOEOA mandate. Thus, DOE can rely on the subpoena power in Section 7255.4 We address this issue first, because it lays the premise for our analysis of the oil companies' legislative history argument.

DOEOA provides in 42 U.S.C. § 7255:

For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the Secretary, or his duly authorized agent or agents, shall have the same powers and authorities as the Federal Trade Commission under Section 49 of Title 15 (the FTC's subpoena power) with respect to all functions vested in, or transferred or delegated to, the Secretary or such agents by this chapter.

In creating DOE, Congress expressly sought to achieve effective management of energy resources, promote consumer interests by ensuring an ample and reasonably priced supply of energy, and foster the economic health of small businesses engaged in energy production. Id. § 7112. The statute mandates appointment of eight Assistant Secretaries with such responsibilities as promoting competition and setting regulations for consumer protection. Id. § 7133(a)(7). The Secretary must create an Energy Information Administration (EIA) for

carrying out a central, comprehensive, and unified data and information program which will collect, evaluate, assemble, analyze, and disseminate data and information which is relevant to energy resource reserves, energy production, demand, and technology, and related economic and statistical information, or which is relevant to the adequacy of energy resources to meet demands in the near and longer term future for the Nation's economic and social needs.

Id. § 7135(a)(2). The statute also vests the EIA Administrator with the very broad duties the FEAA had assigned to the Administrator of the Office of Energy Information Administration under 15 U.S.C. § 790 et seq. (Supp. I 1977), including the task of maintaining information on the economic structure of energy supply systems. Id. § 790a(b). Finally, the DOEOA requires the Secretary to make an annual report on the effectiveness of competitive and regulatory practices of government and private entities. 42 U.S.C. § 7267(5) (Supp. I 1977).

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