Reliance Petroleum Corp. Must Defend Third Party Claims in $80 Million Class Action

         The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has denied Reliance Petroleum Corp.’s motion to dismiss third-party claims Texas Brine Co. filed against the oil company.   The class action is a result of the development of a “sinkhole” on property belonging to or under the control of Texas Brine Co.  Texas Brine Co. asserted that Reliance’s choice to drill a well “unacceptably close” to the wall of a salt cavern and operate the well in a manner that dramatically reduced pressure in the reservoir “caused or contributed to the collapse of the cavern and the formation of the sinkhole.”  The case is Leblanc et al. v. Texas Brine Company LLC, case number 2:12-cv-02059, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.  The order denying Reliance Petroleum’s motion to dismiss Texas Brine Co.’s claims can be found here.