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Laramie County landowners have urged a federal judge to deny Occidental Petroleum Corp.'s attempt to dismiss state law claims in their antitrust lawsuit, as the case against Anadarko Petroleum Corp. advances toward trial.

Anadarko Wyoming Antitrust Lawsuit : Background of the Case

In 2022, Wyoming landowners achieved class certification, accusing Anadarko Petroleum Corp. of hoarding drilling permits to illegally block and control oil and gas development in specific parts of the state. This alleged antitrust behavior by Anadarko and its parent company, Occidental, forms the crux of the landowners' claims.

Anadarko's Legal Maneuvers

The landowners argue that Anadarko's latest motion, filed in late June, is a rehash of previous arguments that were already dismissed by the court. They claim that Anadarko is seeking to persuade the judge to revisit and overturn prior rulings with a judgment on the pleadings motion.

Anadarko and Occidental contend that the landowners' claims lack foundation in state law and should be dismissed. However, the landowners countered that the district court has already appropriately ruled against the companies' motion for judgment as a matter of law under Wyoming's antitrust statute.

Legal Arguments and Statutory Interpretation

The landowners acknowledge that the ruling in question cited an amended version of the statute but insist it also relied on language from the previous version. They maintain that Wyoming Statute § 40-4-401(a)(i) is "clear and unambiguous" concerning business entities engaging in practices that prevent competition or influence prices.

"Rather than starting from and accepting the self-evident, defendants engage in far-ranging, attempted flights of legal imagination – based on the presumed ambiguity of the statute – to spin an improbable different story," the landowners argued.

Anadarko Wyoming Antitrust Lawsuit : Constitutional Claims

Additionally, the landowners dismissed Anadarko's assertions that their claims under the Wyoming Constitution should fail. Anadarko argued that the constitutional provisions cited – Article 1, Section 30, and Article 10, Section 8 – lack enabling statutes and are not applicable to private entities. The landowners, however, maintain that these constitutional prohibitions directly apply to private corporations.

State Action Allegations

The landowners also allege that state action is involved, referencing Anadarko's submission of over 2,200 drilling permit applications to the Wyoming Oil & Gas Conservation Commission.

"Plaintiffs have accordingly alleged state action sufficient to assert a claim under Wyoming's constitution, to the extent the presence of such state action is required," they stated in their response.

Anadarko Wyoming Antitrust Lawsuit : Trial and Representation

The case is scheduled for a three-week trial in mid-August. Representatives for both parties were not immediately available for comment.

The landowners are represented by Robert P. Schuster and Bradley L. Booke of Robert P. Schuster PC, Samuel Issacharoff, Robert Klonoff, J.N. Murdock of Murdock Law Firm LLC, Laurence O. Masson, Cody L. Balzer of Balzer Law Firm PC, and Thomas N. Long, Aaron J. Lyttle, and Kaylee A. Harmon of Long Reimer Winegar LLP.

Occidental Petroleum Corp., Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC, Anadarko Oil and Gas 5 LLC, and Anadarko Land Corp. are represented by Kathy Patrick, Barrett Reasoner, Ross MacDonald, Michael Davis, and Mark Doré of Gibbs & Bruns LLP and Darin Scheer and Timothy M. Stubson of Crowley Fleck PLLP.