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The Legal System and Adr Analysis

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MEMORANDUM TO: Deborah Gronet
FROM: Brian T. Anguish
DATE: September 1st, 2014 SUBJECT: The Legal System and ADR Analysis on Texas Energy Giants In the early part of January 2014, Energy Transfer Partners of Dallas filed a lawsuit against Enterprise Products Partners of Houston and Enbridge Inc. of Calgary Alberta (Curriden, 2014). Energy Transfer Partners of Dallas claims that Enterprise Products Partners broke a prior arrangement to building a pipeline from Houston to Oklahoma. Enterprise Products Partners believes the lawsuit has no merit because there was no true actual partnership or joint venture with Energy Transfer Partners. Energy Transfer Partners disagrees and argues that both Enterprise and Enbridge worked together to cut Energy Transfer Partners out of the pipeline deal illegally. Energy Transfer Partners of Dallas is seeking over one billion dollars in actual and punitive damages (Curriden, 2014). Enterprise Products Partners feels the lawsuit should be thrown out since there was no true agreement in their eyes with Energy Transfer Partners.
This case differs than most business disputes since it is making it into a court room. It seems Energy Transfer Partners of Dallas is looking to bring into light how Enterprise Products Partners of Houston does business. Energy Transfer Partners feels they have a strong enough case to make it into the state court system to solve and collect from their broken partnership with Enterprise Products Partners. Energy Partners could have easily decided to take this dispute to a mediator and could have possibly solved the dispute outside of court. Mediation could have solved the business dispute with all three groups and help get the pipeline moving. On top of the mediation process, Energy Transfer Partners could have used arbitration. The issue with arbitration in this case is having all

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