TOTAL E&P USA, Inc. v. Marubeni Oil & Gas (USA), Inc.

MOTION for Partial Summary Judgment on Damages

S.D. Tex.February 20, 2019

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS HOUSTON DIVISION Total E&P USA, INC. * CIVIL ACTION NO. Plaintiff * 4:16-cv-02671 * v. * JUDGE NANCY F. ATLAS * MARUBENI OIL & GAS (USA) INC. * Defendant * **************************************** MARUBENI OIL & GAS (USA) LLC’S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON DAMAGES Marubeni Oil & Gas (USA) LLC (“MOGUS”), through undersigned counsel, moves for partial summary judgment on damages pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The parties have concurrently filed herewith an Amendment to the Joint Pretrial Order (Dkt. 224), which is adopted and incorporated herein by reference, stipulating that there are no remaining contested issues of material fact and that Total’s 25.834% share of the costs to decommission the Canyon Express Pipeline System (“CEPS”) as of June 30, 2017 is $12,677,584, exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs. Accordingly, summary judgment should be entered in MOGUS’s favor and against Total in this amount. STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES In light of the Court’s prior pretrial rulings, the only issue remaining for trial is the amount of MOGUS’s damages. The parties’ accounting experts have now resolved all accounting disputes, and the parties stipulated in their Amendment to the Joint Pretrial Order that Total’s 25.834% share of the decommissioning costs incurred by MOGUS as of Case 4:16-cv-02671 Document 225 Filed on 02/20/19 in TXSD Page 1 of 5 2 June 30, 2017 is $12,677,584, exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs. See Dkt. 224. As no remaining disputed issues of material fact remain, MOGUS is entitled to the entry of summary judgment against Total in the sum of $12,677,584, exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs. NATURE AND STAGE OF PROCEEDING A jury trial is scheduled to commence on February 21, 2019. If granted, this motion will dispose of all remaining issues other than interests, cots, and attorneys’ fees, and there will be no need to conduct the jury trial. Interests, costs, and attorneys’ fees will be determined by the Court following additional briefing by the parties. UNDISPUTED FACTS The following facts are not in dispute: 1. Total’s 25.834% share of decommissioning costs incurred as of June 30, 2017 is $12,677,584, exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs. See Amendment to Pretrial Order, Dkt. 224. LAW AND ARGUMENT I. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD. A court shall grant summary judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”1 The movant bears the initial burden of showing an absence of genuine issues of material fact and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law.2 To defeat the motion, the nonmoving 1 Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). 2 Rivera v. Houston Indep. Sch. Dist., 349 F.3d 244, 246 (5th Cir. 2003). Case 4:16-cv-02671 Document 225 Filed on 02/20/19 in TXSD Page 2 of 5 3 party must set forth “specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.”3 The nonmoving party may not rest on “conclusory allegations,” “unsubstantiated assertions,” or a mere “scintilla” of evidence.4 “Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no genuine issue for trial.”5 II. MOGUS IS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT AGAINST TOTAL. There are no remaining disputed issues of material fact for trial. The parties have stipulated that Total’s 25.834% proportionate share of the costs of decommissioning the CEPS incurred by MOGUS as of June 30, 2017 is $12,677,584, exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs. MOGUS is entitled to the entry of a summary judgment as a matter of law against Total in the sum of $12,677,584, exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, MOGUS’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Damages should be granted and summary judgment entered against Total finding that its 25.834% proportionate share of costs associated with decommissioning the CEPS as of June 30, 2017 is $12,677,584, exclusive of interest, attorneys’ fees, and litigation costs. A proposed form of the Judgment is attached hereto. 3 Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986) (emphasis in original omitted). 4 Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir. 1994). 5 Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd., 475 U.S. at 587 (internal quotation marks omitted). Case 4:16-cv-02671 Document 225 Filed on 02/20/19 in TXSD Page 3 of 5 4 Respectfully submitted, LOOPER GOODWINE P.C. /s/ Paul J. Goodwine Paul J. Goodwine (Attorney-in-Charge) LA Bar No. 23757; SDTX ID No. 437800 Holly O. Thompson LA Bar No. 31277; SDTX ID No. 2953818 Taylor P. Mouledoux LA Bar No. 31889; SDTX ID No. 1581156 Taylor P. Gay LA Bar No. 35140; SDTX ID No. 3251449 650 Poydras Street, Suite 2400 New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 Telephone: (504) 503-1500 Telecopier: (504) 503-1501 pgoodwine@loopergoodwine.com hthompson@loopergoodwine.com tmouledoux@loopergoodwine.com tgay@loopergoodwine.com -and- SCHONEKAS, EVANS, McGOEY & McEACHIN, LLC Kyle Schonekas LA Bar No. 11817; SDTX ID No. 305350 Joelle F. Evans LA Bar No. 23730; SDTX ID No. 436275 909 Poydras Street, Suite 1600 New Orleans, LA 70112 Telephone: (504) 680-6050 Telecopier: (504) 680-6051 kyle@semmlaw.com joelle@semmlaw.com Attorneys for Marubeni Oil & Gas (USA) LLC Case 4:16-cv-02671 Document 225 Filed on 02/20/19 in TXSD Page 4 of 5 5 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the above and foregoing pleading has been served on all counsel of record for the parties via e-mail, FedEx and/or by electronic filing in the Court’s electronic filing system on this 20th day of February 2019. /s/ Paul J. Goodwine Paul J. Goodwine Case 4:16-cv-02671 Document 225 Filed on 02/20/19 in TXSD Page 5 of 5