Free Response to Motion - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:01-cv-00413-JLK-BNB

Document 214

Filed 02/05/2007

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I N T HE U NITED S TATES D ISTRICT C OURT F OR T HE D ISTRICT O F C OLORADO Civil Action No. 01-cv-0413-JLK M.D. MARK, INC. Plaintiff, vs. KERR-McGEE CORPORATION and ORYX ENERGY COMPANY, Defendants. DEFENDANTS' RESPONSE TO PLAINTIFF'S FIRST MOTION IN LIMINE

Defendants Kerr-McGee Corporation ("Kerr-McGee") Oryx Energy Company ("Oryx") 1 submit this response to Plaintiff's First Motion in Limine. Plaintiff M.D. Mark's First Motion in Limine seeks to create an issue over the names by which Defendants and their corporate subsidiaries shall be called at trial where no issue exists. The sole argument in support of M.D. Mark's motion is its unsupported conclusion that, "[t]he potential harm to Plaintiff will take the form of juror confusion." M.D. Mark does not articulate how this alleged confusion will prejudice M.D. Mark's ability to present its case. In reality, the risk of juror confusion is minimal, while the risk of prejudice to M.D. Mark is nonexistent. Kerr-McGee's and Oryx's subsidiaries are minute aspects of this case. Kerr-McGee and Oryx are the only

Oryx ceased to exist on February 26, 1999, at which time it became Kerr-McGee as a result of a statutory corporate merger.

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Case 1:01-cv-00413-JLK-BNB

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two defendants, and the overwhelming majority of relevant facts relate specifically to them, not their subsidiaries. The only involvement of Kerr-McGee and Oryx subsidiaries is M.D. Mark's allegation that in 1985, Oryx improperly transferred certain PGI Data to a subsidiary called Sun Operating Limited Partnership; shortly after the 1999 merger between Oryx and Kerr-McGee, Sun Operating Limited Partnership LP changed its name to KerrMcGee Oil & Gas Onshore LP. M.D. Mark, however, has not accused Sun Operating Limited Partnership/Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore LP of any wrongdoing. The alleged actions of Kerr-McGee and Oryx are the only facts at issue in this case. Requiring their counsel and the Court to go through the cumbersome process of referring to them as "Kerr-McGee Corporation" and "Oryx Energy Company" is unwarranted. Defendants propose to refer to Kerr-McGee Corporation as "Kerr-McGee" and Oryx Energy Company as "Oryx." If and when the need arises to refer to Kerr-McGee or Oryx subsidiaries, the parties and the Court may refer to those entities by their respective corporate legal names. This eliminates M.D. Mark's concern over juror confusion, as well as its unsubstantiated claim of prejudice.

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Case 1:01-cv-00413-JLK-BNB

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Dated this 5th day of February, 2007. Respectfully submitted,

s/M. Antonio Gallegos Scott S. Barker Gregory E. Goldberg M. Antonio Gallegos H OLLAND & H ART LLP 555 Seventeenth Street, Suite 3200 Post Office Box 8749 Denver, Colorado 80201-8749 Phone: (303) 295-8513 Fax: (303) 975-5416 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] A TTORNEYS F OR D EFENDANTS

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Case 1:01-cv-00413-JLK-BNB

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C ERTIFICATE O F S ERVICE

I hereby certify that, on February 5, 2007, I electronically filed the foregoing with the Clerk of Court using CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to: Harlan P. Pelz Daniele W. Bonifazi Pelz, Bonifazi & Inderwish [email protected] [email protected]

s/Julie J. Winkler________
3657319_1.DOC

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