"K N TransColorado, Inc. v. Questar Corporation ("Questar"), et. al," Case No. 00-CV-129, District Court, Garfield County, Colorado. On June 15, 2000, K N TransColorado filed suit against Questar TransColorado and several of its affiliated Questar entities, asserting claims for breach of fiduciary duties, breach of contract, constructive trust, rescission of the partnership agreement, breach of good faith and fair dealing, tortious concealment, misrepresentation, aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty, dissolution of the TransColorado partnership, and seeking a declaratory judgment, among other claims. The TransColorado partnership has been made a defendant for purposes of an accounting. The lawsuit stems from Questar's alleged failure to support the TransColorado partnership, together with its decision to seek regulatory approval for a project that competes with the Partnership, in breach of its fiduciary duties as a partner. K N TransColorado seeks to recover damages in excess of $152 millio n due to Questar's alleged breaches and, in addition, seeks punitive damages. In response to the complaint, on July 28, 2000, the Questar entities filed a counterclaim and third party claims against K N TransColorado and certain of its affiliates alleging breach of fiduciary duty, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, tortious concealment, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract and conspiracy. The claims allege, among other things, that the Kinder Morgan entities interfered with and delayed construction of the pipeline and made misrepresentations about marketing of capacity and breached their fiduciary duties as a partner. The Questar entities seek to recover damages in excess of $185 million for an alleged breach of fiduciary duty and other claims. Questar filed a motion to dismiss or stay the matter in deference of the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The judge denied Questar's motion. On December 15,2000, the parties agreed to stay the ex ercise of a contractual provision purportedly requiring K N TransColorado to purchase Questar' s interest in the pipeline and to investigate the appointment of an independent operator for the pipeline during the litigation. |
On January 31, 2001, the Court dismissed Questar' s counterclaims for breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing and for indemnity and contribution and dismissed Questar' s Third Party Complaint. On July 19, 2001, the Court granted K N TransColorado' s motion for summary judgment that: a) fiduciary duties existed between the partners; b) these fiduciary duties were not modified or waived; and c) the affiliates and Directors of Questar Pipeline Company and Questar TransColorado acting in their dual capacity had fiduciary obligations which required those individuals to disclose, to the partnership and the partners, information that affected the fundamental business purpose of the partnership. On August 14, 2001, the Court granted leave to Questar to file its First Amended Answer and Counterclaim, once a gain naming Kinder Morgan, Inc. as a counterclaim defendant, and making similar allegations as set forth above. Fact discovery and expert discovery have closed. Trial of the matter commenced on April 1, 2002. See Note 10. |