Energy Transfer and Culberson Midstream Parties Jointly Dismiss First Appellate Challenge to Business Court Division 1B
The Fifteenth Court of Appeals granted a joint motion to dismiss the appeal in Energy Transfer LP v. Culberson Midstream LLC, an early case from the Texas Business Court Division 1B. The February 6, 2025 memorandum opinion provides no substantive analysis, with the parties invoking Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 42.1 to terminate the appeal by agreement.
Procedural Posture and Parties
On February 6, 2025, the Fifteenth Court of Appeals issued a brief memorandum opinion dismissing an appeal from the Texas Business Court Division 1B. The appellants, Energy Transfer LP (formerly Energy Transfer Operating, L.P.) and ETC Texas Pipeline, LTD., had appealed from the business court in a dispute with five related entities: Culberson Midstream LLC, Culberson Midstream Equity, LLC, Moontower Resources Gathering, LLC, Moontower Resources Operating, LLC, and Moontower Resources WI, LLC. The case originated as Trial Court Cause No. 24-BC01B-0005.
The Joint Motion and Dismissal
The parties filed a joint motion to dismiss the appeal under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 42.1, which permits dismissal by agreement of the parties. The Fifteenth Court of Appeals granted the motion in a terse memorandum opinion, stating simply:
The parties have filed a joint motion to dismiss this appeal. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.1. The motion is granted. We dismiss the appeal.
The three-judge panel—Chief Justice Brister and Justices Field and Farris—provided no further analysis.
Significance for Business Court Practice
While the opinion offers no substantive legal analysis, the case represents an early data point in the Texas Business Court's appellate trajectory. The trial court cause number (24-BC01B-0005) indicates this matter was among the early cases filed in Division 1B following the Business Court's establishment. The joint dismissal confirms that the parties invoked Rule 42.1 to terminate the appeal by agreement, though the published record does not disclose the reasons for dismissal or the nature of any resolution.
Implications for Commercial Litigators
The dismissal confirms that Business Court appeals follow conventional appellate procedures, including Rule 42.1's mechanism for party-controlled dismissal. For practitioners tracking the new court's development, the case provides limited precedential value but confirms the Fifteenth Court of Appeals' role in reviewing Division 1B decisions. The published record contains no information regarding the underlying dispute, the basis for the original appeal, or the Business Court's ruling that prompted appellate review.