Pennzoil v. Texaco lawsuit
E306565
The Pennzoil v. Texaco lawsuit was a landmark 1980s U.S. civil case in which Pennzoil won a multibillion-dollar judgment against Texaco over interference with its agreement to acquire Getty Oil, reshaping corporate merger practices and tort law.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco, Inc. | 1 |
| Pennzoil v. Texaco lawsuit canonical | 1 |
Statements (51)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States court case
ⓘ
civil lawsuit ⓘ landmark case ⓘ tort case ⓘ |
| allegation |
Texaco induced Getty Oil to breach its agreement with Pennzoil
ⓘ
Texaco interfered with Pennzoil’s agreement to acquire Getty Oil ⓘ |
| compensatoryDamagesAwarded | approximately 7.5 billion U.S. dollars ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| courtOfFirstInstance | District Court of Harris County, Texas ⓘ |
| decade | 1980s ⓘ |
| defendant |
Texaco
ⓘ
surface form:
Texaco Inc.
|
| impact |
encouraged clearer drafting of merger and acquisition agreements
ⓘ
increased attention to letters of intent and memoranda of understanding in M&A ⓘ raised awareness of potential liability for interfering with pending deals ⓘ |
| industryContext | petroleum industry ⓘ |
| involves |
Getty Oil acquisition
ⓘ
corporate mergers and acquisitions ⓘ oil industry ⓘ |
| judgmentAgainst |
Texaco
ⓘ
surface form:
Texaco Inc.
|
| judgmentAmount | over 10 billion U.S. dollars including interest and punitive damages ⓘ |
| judgmentFor | Pennzoil Company ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
Texas
ⓘ
surface form:
State of Texas
United States of America ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| legalClaimAgainst |
Texaco
ⓘ
surface form:
Texaco Inc.
|
| legalClaimBy | Pennzoil Company ⓘ |
| legalField |
business torts
ⓘ
contract law ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
breach of contract (alleged underlying agreement)
ⓘ
tortious interference with contract ⓘ tortious interference with prospective business relations ⓘ |
| partyRole |
Pennzoil as would-be acquirer of Getty Oil
ⓘ
Texaco as competing bidder for Getty Oil ⓘ |
| plaintiff | Pennzoil Company ⓘ |
| punitiveDamagesAwarded | approximately 3 billion U.S. dollars ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
corporate governance
ⓘ
mergers and acquisitions law ⓘ securities law practice ⓘ |
| resolution | eventual settlement between Pennzoil and Texaco ⓘ |
| result | jury verdict in favor of Pennzoil ⓘ |
| settlementAmount | approximately 3 billion U.S. dollars paid by Texaco to Pennzoil ⓘ |
| significance |
highlighted enforceability of preliminary merger agreements
ⓘ
influenced U.S. tort law on interference with contracts ⓘ one of the largest civil judgments in U.S. history at the time ⓘ reshaped corporate merger practices ⓘ |
| subjectOf |
Pennzoil v. Texaco lawsuit
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco, Inc.
|
| subsequentEvent | Texaco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1987 ⓘ |
| thirdParty | Getty Oil Company ⓘ |
| timePeriod | 1980s ⓘ |
| trialLocation |
Houston, Texas, United States
ⓘ
surface form:
Houston, Texas
|
| underlyingTransaction | proposed acquisition of Getty Oil by Pennzoil ⓘ |
| yearOfVerdict | 1985 ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco, Inc.