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)

How this entity was disambiguated

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 ⓘ
courtOfFirstInstance District Court of Harris County, Texas ⓘ
decade 1980s ⓘ
defendant Texaco Inc. ⓘ
linked to: Texaco
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 Inc. ⓘ
linked to: Texaco
judgmentAmount over 10 billion U.S. dollars including interest and punitive damages ⓘ
judgmentFor Pennzoil Company ⓘ
jurisdiction State of Texas ⓘ
linked to: Texas

United States ⓘ
legalClaimAgainst Texaco Inc. ⓘ
linked to: Texaco
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 Co. v. Texaco, Inc. ⓘ
subsequentEvent Texaco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1987 ⓘ
thirdParty Getty Oil Company ⓘ
timePeriod 1980s ⓘ
trialLocation Houston, Texas ⓘ
underlyingTransaction proposed acquisition of Getty Oil by Pennzoil ⓘ
yearOfVerdict 1985 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Texaco → legalIssue → Pennzoil v. Texaco lawsuit ⓘ
Pennzoil v. Texaco lawsuit → subjectOf → Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco, Inc. ⓘ
linked to: Pennzoil v. Texaco lawsuit
Joe Jamail → notableFor → Pennzoil v. Texaco lawsuit ⓘ