Independent Oil & Gas Producers Sue Subsidiaries of Goldman Sachs and British Petroleum for Conspiring With SemGroup to Defraud Them

NEW YORK, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 80 independent Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas oil and gas producers have filed lawsuits alleging that Goldman Sachs subsidiary J. Aron & Co. and British Petroleum subsidiary BP Oil Supply Company conspired with SemGroup to defraud them and convert millions of dollars worth of the producers' crude oil and gas that was delivered to SemGroup prior to the company's 2008 bankruptcy.

In addition to BP and J. Aron, ConocoPhillips, Plains Marketing and numerous other oil and gas companies are named as defendants in lawsuits that were filed in Kansas and Oklahoma state courts.  The lawsuits for the independent producer plaintiffs say they are owed millions of dollars for the crude oil and gas that the defendants took from SemGroup just as margin calls were rapidly driving the energy company toward its Chapter 11 filing in July 2008.

"We believe the evidence will show that J. Aron deliberately took advantage of SemGroup's dire financial predicament when J. Aron took possession of our clients' oil and gas," says bankruptcy attorney Peter Goodman of McKool Smith, who represents the plaintiffs along with McKool Smith commercial litigator Kyle Lonergan.

The complaints allege that Goldman Sachs and J. Aron exploited their multilayered relationship with SemGroup in which they were the company's investment banker, offering agent, lender, and trading partner to take possession of the independent producers' oil and gas in violation of numerous state laws of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

The cases are Arrow Oil & Gas, Inc., et al. v. J. Aron & Company, et al., No. CJ-2010-239 and Arrow Oil & Gas, Inc., et al. v. Calcasieu Refining Company, et al., No. CJ-2010-240 filed in the District Court for Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, and Anstine & Musgrove, Inc., et al. v. J. Aron & Company, et al., No. 2010 CN 35 and Anstine & Musgrove, Inc., et al. v. Calcasieu Refining Company, et al., No. 2010 CN 34 filed in the District Court for Pratt County, Kansas.

McKool Smith is recognized as one of the premier trial law firms in the United States based on significant courtroom victories and substantial settlements for domestic and international clients. With more than 120 attorneys in Austin, Dallas, Houston, Marshall, New York, and Washington DC, the firm handles complex commercial litigation, intellectual property claims, bankruptcy matters, and white collar litigation for companies and individuals across the globe. McKool Smith has won more of the Top 100 Verdicts than any other law firm in the nation every year since 2008.

For more information, contact Roger J. Cohen, 973 632 4694, or [email protected] or Mike Androvett at 800-559-4534 or [email protected].

SOURCE McKool Smith