Commitments and Contingencies | Commitments and Contingencies Legal Proceedings and Settlements The Company and its subsidiaries are parties to various legal actions arising in the normal course of business. Management believes the disposition of these outstanding legal actions, including the legal actions identified below, will not have a material impact on the Company's financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Mishal and Berger Litigation On May 25, 2018, plaintiffs Tsemach Mishal and Paul Berger (on behalf of themselves and the purported class, Plaintiffs) initiated a purported class action in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (the Trial Court) against the following defendants: the Company, Boardwalk GP, LP (Boardwalk GP), Boardwalk GP, LLC and BPHC (together, Defendants), regarding the potential exercise by Boardwalk GP of its right to purchase the issued and outstanding common units of the Company not already owned by Boardwalk GP or its affiliates (Purchase Right). On June 25, 2018, Plaintiffs and Defendants entered into a Stipulation and Agreement of Compromise and Settlement, subject to the approval of the Trial Court (the Proposed Settlement). Under the terms of the Proposed Settlement, the lawsuit would be dismissed, and related claims against the Defendants would be released by the Plaintiffs, if BPHC, the sole member of the general partner of Boardwalk GP, elected to cause Boardwalk GP to exercise its Purchase Right for a cash purchase price, as determined by the Company's Third Amended and Restated Agreement of Limited Partnership, as amended (the Limited Partnership Agreement), and gave notice of such election as provided in the Limited Partnership Agreement within a period specified by the Proposed Settlement. On June 29, 2018, Boardwalk GP elected to exercise the Purchase Right and gave notice within the period specified by the Proposed Settlement. On July 18, 2018, Boardwalk GP completed the purchase of the Company's common units pursuant to the Purchase Right. On September 28, 2018, the Trial Court denied approval of the Proposed Settlement. On February 11, 2019, a substitute verified class action complaint was filed in this proceeding, which, among other things, added Loews as a Defendant. The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, which was heard by the Trial Court in July 2019. In October 2019, the Trial Court ruled on the motion and granted a partial dismissal, with certain aspects of the case proceeding to trial. A trial was held the week of February 22, 2021, and post-trial oral arguments were held on July 14, 2021. On November 12, 2021, the Trial Court issued a ruling in the case. The Trial Court held that Boardwalk GP breached the Limited Partnership Agreement and found that Boardwalk GP was liable to the Plaintiffs for approximately $690.0 million in damages, plus pre-judgment interest (approximately $166.0 million), post-judgment interest and attorneys' fees. The Trial Court's ruling and damages award was against Boardwalk GP, and not the Company or its subsidiaries. The Defendants believed that the Trial Court ruling included factual and legal errors. Therefore, on January 3, 2022, the Defendants appealed the Trial Court's ruling to the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware (the Supreme Court). On January 17, 2022, the Plaintiffs filed a cross-appeal to the Supreme Court contesting the calculation of damages by the Trial Court. Oral arguments were held on September 14, 2022, and on December 19, 2022, the Supreme Court reversed the Trial Court's ruling and remanded the case to the Trial Court for further proceedings related to claims not decided by the Trial Court's ruling. Briefing by the parties at the Trial Court on the remanded issues was completed in September 2023. A hearing on the remanded issues was held at the Trial Court in April 2024. In September 2024, the Trial Court ruled in favor of the Defendants on all of the remanded issues. On October 21, 2024, the Plaintiffs appealed the Trial Court's ruling on the remanded issues to the Supreme Court. City of New Orleans Litigation Gulf South Pipeline Company, LLC (Gulf South), along with several other energy companies operating in Southern Louisiana, has been named as a defendant in a petition for damages and injunctive relief in state district court for Orleans Parish, Louisiana, (Case No. 19-3466) by the City of New Orleans. The case was filed on March 29, 2019. The lawsuit claims include, among other things, negligence, strict liability, nuisance and breach of contract, alleging that the defendants' drilling, dredging, pipeline and industrial operations since the 1930s have caused increased storm surge risk, increased flood protection costs and unspecified damages to the City of New Orleans. In October 2020, this case was stayed pending the outcome of a consolidated appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in a similar case. On August 5, 2021, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the oil-and-gas defendants in that consolidated appeal, finding that the two cases being appealed should be re-examined in federal district court since they involve operations that were federally overseen at the time. The ruling reverses a previous decision that allowed the cases to be heard in state court, which the plaintiffs had sought. As a result of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision, it is anticipated that this case will be reviewed in federal district court to determine whether the case should be heard in that court. Discovery has been initiated. Gulf South and Texas Gas Transmission, LLC (Texas Gas) have been named as defendants in several suits in the State of Louisiana that are similar in nature to the City of New Orleans Litigation discussed above. These cases were filed in Louisiana state courts and discovery is ongoing. One of these cases was settled in the second quarter 2024 and it did not have a material impact to the Company's results of operations or equity. Regulatory Cost Recovery Mechanism On May 1, 2024, Gulf South filed with the FERC a regulatory cost recovery mechanism, to be included in Gulf South's tariff, that would allow Gulf South to track and recover, via a surcharge, the costs of complying with certain new environmental regulatory requirements and regulatory requirements imposed by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Gulf South requested that the regulatory cost recovery mechanism have an initial term of five years beginning on November 1, 2024. On October 31, 2024, Gulf South received an order from the FERC rejecting the cost recovery mechanism. Commitments for Construction The Company's future capital commitments are comprised of binding commitments under purchase orders for materials ordered but not received and firm commitments under binding construction service agreements. As of September 30, 2024, the commitments were approximately $141.3 million, all of which are expected to be settled within the next twelve months. |