Energy Transfer Partners awarded record damages against Enterprise Partner Products. The appeal presents an important issue about partnership formation.

ENERGY TRANSFER PARTNERS, L.P. AND ENERGY TRANSFER FUEL, L.P. v. ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS PARTNERS, L.P. AND ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS OPERATING LLC, Case No. 17-0862, The Supreme Court of Texas.

To see The Supreme Court of Texas briefing, follow this link.  And to see (10/08/2019) Oral Argument, look here.

Energy Transfer Partners was awarded $500,000,000 against Enterprise Partner Products — the largest commercial liability judgment ever awarded by a Texas district court in Dallas County. The trial judge agreed with a jury verdict that, though the businesses did not have a written partnership agreement, the parties had, by their actions, created a partnership. And Enterprise breached that partnership with ETP by moving forward on the project with another partner. In a Dallas Morning News article describing the trial court’s judgment in favor of ETP and against Enterprise, ENOCH KEVER member Justice Craig Enoch made the point that “[this case] is basically the business version of a common-law marriage and divorce.” He opined that “the extremely large size of the judgment and the fascinating legal issue [surrounding partnership creation] for businesses will most certainly attract the eye of the [Texas] Supreme Court.”

The ENOCH KEVER team was engaged to help Energy Transfer Partners on appeal.