Exxon Corp. v. United States Dept. of Energy, 5-103

• Decision Date: 06 July 1984
• Docket Number: 10-51.,No. 5-103,5-103
• Court: U.S. Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: EXXON CORPORATION, Mobil Oil Corporation, and Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY and Donald P. Hodel, Secretary of Energy, Defendants. In re: the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY STRIPPER WELL EXEMPTION Litigation, M.D.L. 378.

744 F.2d 98

EXXON CORPORATION, Mobil Oil Corporation, and Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY and Donald P. Hodel, Secretary of Energy, Defendants.

In re: the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY STRIPPER WELL EXEMPTION Litigation, M.D.L. 378.

Nos. 5-103, 10-51.

Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals.

Argued May 10, 1984.

Decided July 6, 1984.

As Corrected August 15, 1984.

Certiorari Denied December 3, 1984.

Keith A. Jones, Fulbright & Jaworski, Washington, D.C., with whom M.W. Parse, Jr., Jerry E. Smith and A. Frank Koury, of the same firm, Edward de la Garza, Houston, Tex., R. Bruce McLean, Daniel Joseph and David A. Holzworth, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, Washington, D.C., and William C. Streets, Mark J. Forsch, Houston, Tex. and Gail F. Schulz, Fairfax, Va., were on brief, for plaintiffs in No. 5-103.

Warren Christopher, O'Melveny & Myers, Washington, D.C., with whom Carl R. Schenker, Jr., Aaron S. Bayer and Jacob M. Lewis, of the same firm, Washington, D.C., and Joseph W. Kennedy, Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock & Kennedy, Wichita, Kan., were on brief, for plaintiffs in No. 10-51.

Larry P. Ellsworth, Assistant Gen. Counsel, Dept. of Energy, Washington, D.C., with whom Thomas C. Newkirk, Don W. Crockett, David A. Engels, Marcia Sowles and John L. Gurney, Dept. of Energy, Richard K. Willard, Acting Asst. Atty. Gen., and Anthony J. Steinmeyer and Douglas Letter, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., were on brief, for defendants in Nos. 5-103 and 10-51.

Andrew P. Miller, Dickstein, Shapiro & Morin, Washington, D.C., with whom Stephan G. Wielgoz, of the same firm, James F. Flug and Paula Dinerstein, Lobel, Novins & Lamont, Bernard Nash and Edward G. Modell, Blum & Nash, Washington, D.C., David Frohnmayer, Atty. Gen. of Oregon, Salem, Or., Irving I. Kimmelman, Atty. Gen. of New Jersey, Trenton, N.J., Francis X. Bellotti, Atty. Gen. of Massachusetts, Boston, Mass., and Travis Medlock, Atty. Gen. of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C., were on brief for intervenors States in No. 10-51.

Kathleen O. Argiropoulos, Air Transport Ass'n of America, Washington, D.C., with whom Richard T. Williams, Kadison, Pfaelzer, Woodard, Quinn & Rossi, Los Angeles, Cal., were on brief for intervenor Air Transport Ass'n of America, in No. 10-51.

Harold E. Kohn, Kohn, Savett, Marion & Graf, Philadelphia, Pa., with whom Joseph C. Kohn, Philadelphia, Pa., of the same firm, Alexander B. Mitchell, II, Sargent, Klenda, Haag & Mitchell, Wichita, Kan., Philip P. Kalodner, and Lee Ann Glanton, Philadelphia, Pa., were on brief, for intervenors Geraldine H. Sweeney, RJG Cab, Inc., Nat. Freight, Inc. and Philadelphia Elec. Co. in No. 10-51.

Before CHRISTENSEN, WILLIAM H. BECKER, and WESLEY E. BROWN, Judges.

Certiorari Denied December 3, 1984. See 105 S.Ct. 576.

WILLIAM H. BECKER, Judge.

FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, AND JUDGMENT^*

Nature of Actions and Original Jurisdiction

These are two consolidated actions, of which this Court has original jurisdiction under § 211(c) of the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 found in 12 U.S.C. § 1904 Note, and incorporated in § 5(a)(1) of the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act (EPAA), P.L. 93-159, 15 U.S.C. § 754(a)(1) as amended by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), P.L. 94-163, 15 U.S.C. § 754.

Original jurisdiction of each of these consolidated actions was acquired when the separate District Courts determined that, in an action pending therein, a substantial Constitutional issue existed, and certified that issue to this Court. The separate issues so certified by the separate District Courts are substantially the same. The certificates by the District Courts are set out hereinafter.

A. The Parties

Because this Court has original jurisdiction in these two consolidated actions, the parties in each action will be designated as plaintiffs and defendants, rather than appellants and appellees. The numbers, styles and parties in these two actions are as follows:

No. 5-103.

Exxon Corporation, et al.

v.

United States Department of Energy, et al.

On Certification from the Northern District of Texas

No. (N.D.Tex.) CA-3-75-0836-W. Plaintiffs.

The remaining plaintiffs in this original action (consolidated) are the following parties:

Exxon Corporation

Mobil Oil Corporation

Mobil Oil Exploration & Producing Southeast, Inc.

Dorchester Gas Producing Company and Dorchester Gas Processing Company, originally plaintiffs in the District Court, have settled their controversy with the Department of Energy and are not parties to this proceeding.

Defendants.

The defendants in this original action are as follows:

United States Department of Energy

Donald P. Hodel, Secretary of Energy.

No. 10-51.

In Re: The Department of Energy Stripper Well Exemption Litigation, M.D.L. No. 378.

On Certification from the District of Kansas.

This is multidistrict civil litigation in which the parties are listed as follows:

Plaintiffs.

Energy Reserves Group, Inc. Suburban Propane Gas Corporation Marathon Oil Company Sklar & Phillips Oil Company Sierra Petroleum Co., Inc. Braden-Zenith, Inc. Mobil Oil Corporation Mobil Producing Texas & New Mexico, Inc. Willie Ansley Bryson Stelbar Oil Corporation, Inc.

The Standard Oil Company, an Ohio Corporation Theo M. Glenn, Jr Eleanor E. Glenn Robert Dale Brandenburg Texaco Inc., a Delaware Corporation Aminoil USA, Inc. Continental Oil Co., Inc. (Conoco) Sun Exploration and Production Co Otis C. Peavey Everal A. Peavey Gladys G. Peavey Ronald J. Peavey Kenneth Wellbrock Nora C. Binder Fred J. Jorgensen Arlene M. Wolfe Dora J. Johnson Robert F. Johnson Marilyn J. Johnson Howard Stout, Co-Trustee of the Charles S Page Trust Lorena Houlton, Co-Trustee of the Charles S. Page Trust Mary E. Hall, Co-Trustee of the Charles S Page Trust Gulf Oil Corporation Robert E. Davis Energy Consumers and Producers Association Inc. (formerly Oklahoma Association of Energy Consumers and Producers) Ruthven, Inc. Pioneer Operations Company, Inc. George R. Jones Rex Archer T.B. Wilcox, III Wico Oil Company Jack Fena James Tasheff Robert G. Braden National Cooperative Refinery Association Estate of Martin Wunderlich Estate of Charles F. Curry Guy E. Stanley, Jr. J.R. Dougherty John B. Dougherty Estate of Milton McGreevy Herndon Drilling Company Rhude & Fryberger, Inc. Petroleum Management, Inc. Atlantic Richfield Company W.R. Murfin d/b/a Murfin Drilling Company Champlin Petroleum Company Exxon Corporation Hunt Oil Company Crystal Oil Company Ira Thomas May Muskegon Development Company Paul B. Fletcher, Sr. Anadarko Production Company IU International Oil & Gas, Inc. Wood Oil Co. Dan Wallace d/b/a Columbus Oil Co. Will I. Lewis Enterprises, Inc. Jimmie Austin d/b/a Austin Drilling Company Santa Fe Energy Company George G. Anderman Donald R. Kirby Patricia Anne Leonard Mary Kay Harrington A.F. McMillan Zula McMillan Farmers Crude Production Co. (formerly Farmers Petroleum Cooperative, Inc.) William C. Kirkwood d/b/a Kirkwood Oil and Gas Company Petroleum Corporation of Texas Defendants. United States Department of Energy Secretary of the United States Department of Energy Intervenors. Total Petroleum, Inc. Tenneco Oil Company Pennzoil Company Tosco Corporation Ashland Oil, Inc. Texas City Refining, Inc. American Independent Refiners Association (formerly American Petroleum Refiners Association) Chevron U.S.A., Inc. Farmland Industries, Inc. Shell Oil Company The State of Michigan The State of Alabama The State of California The State of Arkansas The State of Kansas The State of Delaware The State of Iowa The State of North Dakota The State of Rhode Island The State of Texas The Commonwealth of Virginia The State of West Virginia The State of Mississippi The State of Montana The State of Minnesota The State of Colorado The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania The State of Georgia The State of South Carolina The State of Vermont The State of Nebraska The State of North Carolina The State of Illinois The State of Ohio The State of South Dakota The State of Wisconsin The State of Oregon The State of Maryland The State of New Jersey The State of Tennessee The State of Nevada The State of Hawaii The State of New Mexico The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico The Territory of Guam The U.S. Virgin Islands The District of Columbia The State of New York The Commonwealth of Massachusetts The State of Connecticut The State of New Hampshire The State of Maine The State of Louisiana The State of Utah The State of Idaho The State of Indiana The State of Wyoming National Freight, Inc. Philadelphia Electric Co. Payne 22, Inc. Anthony Monaco Rex Shipley Robert Sharo George Theodore Harvey Hatfield Richard Vielhaber Nicholas Peto National Oil Jobbers Council Geraldine H. Sweeney RJG Cab, Inc. Air Transport Association of America Virginia Electric and Power Company The Jobbers' Group

B. Certificates of the District Courts

The material parts of the determinations and certificates of the District Courts follow:

"In No. 5-103 by United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

"Pursuant to section 211(c) of the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970, 12 U.S.C. § 1904 note, the court hereby certifies to the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals the following substantial constitutional issue raised by plaintiff Exxon Corporation in its Supplemental Motion for Summary Judgment:

"Whether the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act are unconstitutional under Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha ___ U.S. ___, 103 S.Ct. 2764 77 L.Ed.2d 317 (1983), in that they contain unconstitutional one-house legislative veto provisions that are not severable from the remainder of those statutes, thereby rendering void the regulations promulgated pursuant thereto."

(Style, title, words, date and signature omitted.)

"In No. 10-51 by the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.

"On November 14,

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