Atmos Energy Corp. V. Abbott

By Third District, at Austin Texas Court of Appeals

Atmos Energy Corp. V. Abbott - Third District, at Austin Texas Court of Appeals
  • Release Date: 2004-01-29
  • Genre: Law

Description

This is an appeal from the dismissal of appellants' request for declaratory relief. Appellants, Atmos Energy Corporations ("Atmos") and Enermart Energy Services Trust ("Enermart"), natural gas sellers, brought a declaratory-judgment suit against the Office of the Attorney General ("OAG") in Travis County, seeking a declaration that a state statute purporting to set the price of natural gas sold to agricultural users did not apply to them.*fn1 In the alternative, if the court found the statute applied, they asked that it be found unconstitutional. Prior to seeking declaratory relief in Travis County, appellants were sued under that same price-control statute in Parmer and Hale Counties (Hereinafter, "West Texas"). Citing the pendency of the litigation in West Texas on the same issues and appellants' failure to establish an actual or threatened injury, the OAG filed a plea to the jurisdiction. The trial court granted the OAG'S's plea and dismissed appellants' request for declaratory relief. Because we find that appellants failed to plead a ripe controversy, we affirm the dismissal.