Republic Natural Gas Co v. State of Oklahoma

• Decision Date: 03 May 1948
• Docket Number: No. 134,134
• Parties: REPUBLIC NATURAL GAS CO. v. STATE OF OKLAHOMA et al
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

334 U.S. 62

68 S.Ct. 972

92 L.Ed. 1212

REPUBLIC NATURAL GAS CO.

v STATE OF OKLAHOMA et al.

No. 134.

Argued Jan. 6, 1948.

Decided May 3, 1948.

Appeal from the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma.

Messrs. Robert M. Rainey, of Oklahoma City, Okl., and John F. Eberhardt, of Wichita, Kan., for appellant.

Mr. Earl Pruet, of Oklahoma City, Okl., for appellees.

Mr. Justice FRANKFURTER delivered the opinion of the Court.

This is an appeal from a decision of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, arising from an order of the State Corporation Commission which concerned the correlative rights of owners of natural gas drawn from a common source.

Since 1913, Oklahoma has regulated the extraction of natural gas, partly to prevent waste and partly to avoid excessive drainage as between producers sharing the same pool. The legislation provided that owners might take from a common source amounts of gas proportionate to the natural flow of their respective wells, but not more than 25% of that natural flow without the consent of the Corporation Commission; that any person taking gas away from a gas field, except for certain specified purposes, 'shall take ratably from each owner of the gas in proportion to his interest in said gas'; and that such ratable taking was to be upon terms agreed upon by the various well owners, or, in the event of failure to agree, upon terms fixed by the Corporation Commission.¹

The Hugoton Gas Field is one of the largest in the United States, covering a vast area in several States, including Oklahoma. It was discovered in 1924 or 1925 but the Oklahoma portion was not developed until 1937. Republic, a Delaware corporation, obtained permission to do business in Oklahoma in 1938, purchased gas leases in this field and drilled wells, removing the gas in its own pipelines. In 1944, the Peerless Oil and Gas Company completed a well in a portion of the gas field otherwise tapped only by Republic. It had no market for the gas obtained from this well, nor means of transporting such gas to any market. It offered to sell the gas to Republic, which refused it. Peerless then applied to the Corporation Commission for an order requiring Republic to take such gas from it 'ratably'—that is, to take the same proportion of the natural flow of Peerless' well as Republic took of the natural flow of its own wells. After a hearing, the Commission found that the production of natural gas in the Hugoton field was in excess of the market demand; that Republic had qualified to do business in Oklahoma with full knowledge of the existing legislation requiring the ratable taking of natural gas; and that Republic was taking more than its ratable share of gas from that portion of the field tapped both by its wells and that belonging to Peerless, thereby draining gas away from Peerless' tract and, in effect, taking property belonging to Peerless. The Commission ordered Republic:

'1. * * * to take gas ratably from applicant's (Peerless') well * * *, and to make necessary connection as soon as applicant lays a line connecting said well with respondent's (Republic's) line, and to continue to do so until the further order of this Commission; provided that, applicant shall lay its line from its well to the lines of respondent at some point designated by the respondent, but in said Section 14 in which said well of Peerless Oil and Gas Company has been drilled; and said respondent is required to make said designation immediately and without unreasonable delay, and in event of failure of respondent so to do, respondent shall no longer be permitted to produce any of its wells located in the Hugoton Oklahoma Gas Field.

'2. The terms and conditions of such taking of natural gas by Republic Natural Gas Company from said Peerless Oil and Gas Company's well shall be determined and agreed upon by and between applicant and respondent; and in the event said parties are unable to agree, applicant and respondent are hereby granted the right to make further application to the Commission for an order fixing such terms and conditions; and the Commission retains jurisdiction hereof for said purpose.'

On appeal, the Oklahoma Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Republic, having been given leave to enter the State on the basis of the legislation governing natural gas production, might not challenge its validity, and that neither the order nor the legislation on which it is based runs counter to asserted constitutional rights. 198 Okl. 350, 180 P.2d 1009. The court interpreted the Commission's order as giving Republic 'a choice between taking the gas from Peerless and paying therefor direct, or marketing the gas and accounting to Peerless therefor, or to shut in its own production from the same common source of supply.' 198 Okl. at page 356, 180 P.2d at page 1016. Invoking both the Due r ocess and the Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, Republic appealed to this Court.

This case raises thorny questions concerning the regulation of fugacious minerals, of moment both to States whose economy is especially involved and to the private enterprises which develop these natural resources. Cf. Thompson v. Consolidated Gas Utilities Corp., 300 U.S. 55, 57 S.Ct. 364, 81 L.Ed. 510; Railroad Commission of Texas v. Rowan & Nichols Oil Co., 310 U.S. 573, 60 S.Ct. 1021, 84 L.Ed. 1368, Id., 311 U.S. 570, 61 S.Ct. 343, 85 L.Ed. 358. Before reaching these constitutional issues, we must determine whether or not we have jurisdiction to do so.

Ever since 1789, Congress has granted this Court the power of review in State litigation only after 'the highest court of a State in which a decision in a suit could be had' has rendered a 'final judgment or decree.' § 237 of the Judicial Code, 28 U.S.C. § 344, 28 U.S.C.A. § 344, rephrasing § 25 of the Act of September 24, 1789, 1 Stat. 73, 85. Designed to avoid the evils of piecemeal review, this reflects a marked characteristic of the federal judicial system, unlike that of some of the States. This prerequisite for the exercise of the appellate powers of this Court is especially pertinent when a constitutional barrier is asserted against a State court's decision on matters peculiarly of local concern. Close observance of this limitation upon the Court is not regard for a strangling technicality. History bears ample testimony that it is an important factor in securing harmonious State-federal relations.

No self-enforcing formula defining when a judgment is 'final' can be devised. Tests have been indicated which are helpful in giving direction and emphasis to decision from case to case. Thus, the requirement of finality has not been met merely because the major issues in a case have been decided and only a few loose ends remain to be tied up—for example, where liability has been determined and all that needs to be adjudicated is the amount of damages. Bruce v. Tobin, 245 U.S. 18, 38 S.Ct. 7, 62 L.Ed. 123; Martinez v. International Banking Corp., 220 U.S. 214, 223, 31 S.Ct. 408, 411, 55 L.Ed. 438; Mississippi Central R. Co. v. Smith, 295 U.S. 718, 55 S.Ct. 830, 79 L.Ed. 1673. On the other hand, if nothing more than a ministerial act remains to be done, such as the entry of a judgment upon a mandate, the decree is regarded as concluding the case and is immediately reviewable. Board of Commissioners v. Lucas, 93 U.S. 108, 23 L.Ed. 822; Mower v. Fletcher, 114 U.S. 127, 5 S.Ct. 799, 29 L.Ed. 117.

There have been instances where the Court has entertained an appeal of an order that otherwise might be deemed interlocutory, because the controversy had proceeded to a point where a losing party would be irreparably injured if review were unavailing. Cf. Clark v. Williard, 294 U.S. 211, 55 S.Ct. 356, 79 L.Ed. 865, 98 A.L.R. 347; Gumbel v. Pitkin, 113 U.S. 545, 5 S.Ct. 616, 28 L.Ed. 1128 and compare Forgay v. Conrad, 6 How. 201, 204, 12 L.Ed. 404, with Barnard v. Gibson, 7 How. 650, 657, 12 L.Ed. 857. For related reasons, an order decreeing immediate transfer of possession of physical property is final for purposes of review even though an accounting for profits is to follow. In such cases the accounting is deemed a severed controversy and not part of the main case. Forgay v. Conrad, supra; Carondelet Canal & Navigation Co. v. Louisiana, 233 U.S. 362, 34 S.Ct. 627, 58 L.Ed. 1001; Radio Station WOW v. Johnson, 326 U.S. 120, 65 S.Ct. 1475, 89 L.Ed. 2092. But a decision that a taking by eminent domain is for a public use, where the amount of compensation has not been determined, is not deemed final, certainly where the property will not change hands until after the award of compensation. Grays Harbor Logging Co. v. Coats-Fordney Logging Co., 243 U.S. 251, 37 S.Ct. 295, 61 L.Ed. 702; cf. Luxton v. North River Bridge Co., 147 U.S. 337, 13 S.Ct. 356, 37 L.Ed. 194; Catlin v. United States, 324 U.S. 229, 6 S.Ct. 631, 89 L.Ed. 911.² One thing is clear. The considerations that determine finality are not abstractions but have reference to very real interests—not merely those of the immediate parties but, more particularly, those that pertain to the smooth functioning of our judicial system.

On which side of the line, however faint and faltering at times, dividing judgments that were deemed 'final' from those found not to be so, does the judgment before us fall? The order of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, as affirmed below, terminates some but not all issues in this proceeding. Republic is required to take ratably from Peerless, but it may do so in any one of three ways. If, as is most probable, Republic would choose not to close down its own wells, under the Commission's order it must allow Peerless to connect its well to Republic's pipeline. But there has been left open for later determination, in event of failure to reach agreement, the terms upon which Republic must take the gas, the rates which it must pay on purchase, or may charge if it sells as agent of Peerless. Does either its alternative character, or the fact...