Sunoco, Energy Transfer Pipeline Arguments Center on Venue Limbo

A federal appeals panel offered few clues as to whether Energy Transfer LP and Sunoco Pipeline LP are exempt from Pennsylvania residents’ negligence lawsuit over the Twin Oaks Pipeline leak in state court during oral arguments Thursday.

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit heavily questioned both parties on how involved Energy Transfer’s Pennsylvania subsidiary R&M LLC was in the pipeline. A lower court had remanded the case to state court based solely on a Pennsylvania remediation order which directed both Sunoco and R&M to address the 2025 jet fuel leak that contaminated private water wells in Upper ...