Skip to main content
Find a Lawyer

ENABLE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TRANSMISSION LLC LLC v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., Intervenors (2020)

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

ENABLE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TRANSMISSION, LLC and Enable Gas Transmission, LLC, Petitioners v. FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, Respondent American Airlines, Inc., et al., Intervenors

No. 18-1252

Decided: August 14, 2020

Before: Srinivasan, Chief Judge, Rogers and Wilkins, Circuit Judges

Andrew Peter Mina, Esquire, William Michael Rappolt, Attorney, Mark F. Sundback, Esquire, Kenneth L. Wiseman, Esquire, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, Washington, DC, for Petitioners Enable Mississippi River Transmission, LLC, Enable Gas Transmission, LLC - Case No: 18-1252 Michelle Theresa Boudreaux, Charles F. Caldwell, Susan Beall Kittey, Counsel, Sabina Dugal Walia, Caldwell Boudreaux Lefler, PLLC, Daniel Watson Sanborn, Kinder Morgan, Inc., Houston, TX, for Petitioner SFPP, L.P. - Case No: 18-1254 Scott Ray Ediger, Attorney Advisor, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Office of General Counsel, Robert Harris Solomon, Esquire, Solicitor, Elizabeth Evans Rylander, Attorney, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Office of the Solicitor, Washington, DC, for Respondent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission - Case No: 18-1252, 18-1254 Robert B. Nicholson, Attorney, Robert J. Wiggers, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division, Appellate Section, Washington, DC, Matthew David Field, Venable LLP, Washington, DC, Michael Murray, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Deputy Attorney General, Washington, DC, for Respondent United States of America - Case No: 18-1254 Richard E. Powers, Jr., Esquire, Matthew David Field, Venable LLP, Washington, DC, for Intervenor for Respondents American Airlines, Inc., Delta Air Lines, Inc., Southwest Airlines Co. - Case No: 18-1252 Richard E. Powers, Jr., Esquire, Venable LLP, Washington, DC, for Intervenor for Respondent United Airlines, Inc. - Case No: 18-1252 Jeffrey Kenneth Janicke, John P. Gregg, McCarter & English, LLP, Washington, DC, for Intervenor for Respondents American Public Gas Association - Case No: 18-1252, 18-1254 Thomas James Eastment, Baker Botts LLP, Washington, DC, Gregory S. Wagner, Venable LLP, Washington, DC, for Intervenor for Respondents BP West Coast Products LLC, HollyFrontier Refining & Marketing LLC - Case No: 18-1252 James Harrison Holt, Mary-Kaitlin Eileen Rigney, Attorney, Betts & Holt LLP, Washington, DC, for Intervenor for Respondents Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers - Case No: 18-1252, 18-1254 Steven Andrew Adducci, Matthew David Field, Venable LLP, Washington, DC, for Intervenor for Respondents Chevron Products Company, Valero Marketing and Supply Company - Case No: 18-1252 Thomas James Eastment, Baker Botts LLP, Washington, DC, for Intervenor for Respondents ExxonMobil Oil Corporation - Case No: 18-1252 R. Gordon Gooch, Pro Se - Case No: 18-1252 Jeffrey Kenneth Janicke, McCarter & English, LLP, Washington, DC, James H. Byrd, McCarter & English, LLP, Washington, DC, for Intervenor for Respondent Spire Missouri Inc. - Case No: 18-1252 Thomas James Eastment, Baker Botts LLP, Washington, DC, Melvin Goldstein, Goldstein & Associates, Washington, DC, for Intervenor for Respondent Western Refining Company, L.P. - Case No: 18-1252 Michelle Theresa Boudreaux, Charles F. Caldwell, Susan Beall Kittey, Counsel, Sabina Dugal Walia, Caldwell Boudreaux Lefler, PLLC, Daniel Watson Sanborn, Kinder Morgan, Inc., Houston, TX, for Intervenor for Petitioner SFPP, L.P. - Case No: 18-1252 Steven H. Brose, Daniel James Poynor, Steven G. Thomson Reed, Steptoe & Johnson LLP, Steven Mark Kramer, General Counsel, Association of Oil Pipe Lines, Washington, DC, for Intervenor for Petitioner Association of Oil Pipe Lines - Case No: 18-1252 Andrew Peter Mina, Esquire, William Michael Rappolt, Attorney, Mark F. Sundback, Esquire, Kenneth L. Wiseman, Esquire, Washington, DC, Mark Charles Schroeder, CenterPoint Energy, Houston, TX, for Intervenor for Petitioners Enable Gas Transmission, LLC, Enable Mississippi River Transmission, LLC - Case No: 18-1254

JUDGMENT

These petitions for review of orders of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission were presented to the Court and briefed and argued by counsel. The Court has afforded the issues full consideration and has determined that they do not warrant a published opinion. See D.C. Cir. R. 36(d). For the following reasons, it is

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the petitions for review be DISMISSED AS MOOT.

Enable Mississippi River Transmission, LLC, together with Enable Gas Transmission, LLC, filed a petition for review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Revised Policy Statement on Treatment of Income Taxes, Inquiry Regarding the Commission's Policy for Recovery of Income Tax Costs, 162 FERC ¶ 61,227 (Mar. 15, 2018), and of its Order on Rehearing of the same, Inquiry Regarding the Commission's Policy for Recovery of Income Tax Costs, 164 FERC ¶ 61,030 (July 18, 2018). Enable Miss. River Transmission, LLC v. FERC, No. 18-1252. SFPP, L.P. also petitioned for review of these orders, SFPP, L.P. v. FERC, No. 18-1254, and the petitions were consolidated. These petitions assert a facial challenge to FERC's statement of its policy regarding income-tax allowances for master limited partnership pipelines.

In a companion case argued on the same day as these consolidated facial challenges, SFPP, L.P. disputed the application in its individual rate case of the policy announced in the orders here under review. SFPP, L.P. v. FERC, 967 F.3d 788 (D.C. Cir. 2020), 19-1067. Faced with a similar situation in the companion cases of Canadian Ass'n of Petroleum Producers (“CAPP”) v. FERC, 487 F.3d 973 (D.C. Cir. 2007) (per curiam) (facial challenge), and ExxonMobil Oil Corp. v. FERC, 487 F.3d 945 (D.C. Cir. 2007) (per curiam) (as-applied challenge), we noted in the former case the existence of “substantial issues of both standing and ripeness,” but found it unnecessary to “address these threshold issues” because of our resolution in the as-applied case of the merits arguments proffered by the facial petitioners, CAPP, 487 F.3d at 974 (citing ExxonMobil, 487 F.3d 945). We therefore dismissed CAPP's challenge as moot in light of our decision in ExxonMobil. Id.

When questioned at oral argument on the applicability of CAPP, and specifically whether the instant petitions presented any substantive challenge to the at-issue policy that would not be resolved in the as-applied case, counsel for the instant petitioners identified no such challenge, but instead iterated the importance of there being “some forum in which to challenge this policy.” Oral Arg. Recording 14:29-15:11, 16:13-16:33; see generally id. 14:29-18:28.

This forum has been provided in the as-applied case, SFPP, L.P. v. FERC, No. 19-1067 (decided July 31, 2020). Therefore, and in light of both CAPP and our resolution, in SFPP, L.P., of the merits arguments raised here, we dismiss the instant petitions for review as moot. See CAPP, 487 F.3d at 974.

Pursuant to D.C. Circuit Rule 36, this disposition will not be published. The Clerk is directed to withhold issuance of the mandate herein until seven days after resolution of any timely petition for rehearing or petition for rehearing en banc. See Fed. R. App. P. 41(b); D.C. Cir. R. 41(a)(1).

Per Curiam

Was this helpful?

Welcome to FindLaw's Cases & Codes

A free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes visit FindLaw's Learn About the Law.

Go to Learn About the Law

ENABLE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TRANSMISSION LLC LLC v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., Intervenors (2020)

Docket No: No. 18-1252

Decided: August 14, 2020

Court: United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Need to find an attorney?

Search our directory by legal issue

Enter information in one or both fields (Required)

    More Options

    For Legal Professionals

    Get a profile on the #1 online legal directory

    Harness the power of our directory with your own profile. Select the button below to sign up.

    Sign up

    Learn About the Law

    Get help with your legal needs

    FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.

    Go to Learn About the Law

    Need to find an attorney?

    Search our directory by legal issue

    Enter information in one or both fields (Required)

      More Options
      Copied to clipboard