Texas Rice Land Partners, Ltd. v. Denbury Green Pipeline-Texas, LLC
381 S.W.3d 465
Tex.2012Background
- Concurrence by Justice Wainwright addressing scope of the Court’s holding on common-carrier status for CO2 pipelines.
- Court holds common-carrier status requires more than formality; property rights are fundamental.
- For common-carrier status, a pipeline must serve the public and not merely a corporate parent or affiliate.
- Denbury Green Pipeline-Texas, LLC challenged breadth of the term “affiliate” under Nat. Res. Code §§ 111.002(6), 111.019.
- Denbury’s ownership structure showed it was an affiliate of the pipeline owner, raising concern about broad affiliate definitions beyond the dispute’s facts.
- Legislation and regulations define “affiliate” with control/ownership thresholds in other contexts, suggesting the term should not be unbounded.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scope of affiliate in common-carrier test | Denbury seeks broader affiliate scope to exclude pipeline from public-use | Court should clarify affiliate to avoid overbreadth | Affiliate scope should be bounded; not all ownership creates disqualifying affiliate |
| Public-use requirement for CO2 pipelines | Public use should include broader transport to public | Public use should be limited to actual public beneficiaries | Public use requires more than serving only a corporate parent or affiliate |
| Impact on property rights and legislative scope | Property rights require protection from expansive corporate controls | Court should align with legislative definitions | Court should not unsettle corporate separateness; limit for clarity |
| Breadth of the opinion's guidance | Guidance may exceed dispute scope | Guidance necessary for future cases | Judicial guidance should align with facts presented; avoid overbreadth |
Key Cases Cited
- Severance v. Patterson, 370 S.W.3d 705 (Tex. 2012) (fundamental property rights precedent in Texas constitutional context)
- Eggemeyer v. Eggemeyer, 554 S.W.2d 137 (Tex. 1977) (recognizes fundamental property rights under Texas law)
- Upjohn Co. v. U.S., 449 U.S. 383 (U.S. 1981) (limits on broad rulemaking; decision centers on concrete cases)