Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Federal Energy Administration

MEMORANDUM OF OPINION

Plaintiff Atlantic Richfield Company (“ARCO”) filed this action on June 6, 1977 against the Federal Energy Administration (“FEA”), certain FEA officials, and Dennis Riley, a former lessee of an ARCO service station. In 1975 the FEA determined that the service station rent that ARCO was charging Riley exceeded the maximum rent permitted by FEA regulations. The FEA ordered ARCO to make refunds and grant credits to Riley to comply with FEA rent regulations. After ARCO made these payments, the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals held in the case of Shell Oil Co. v. Federal Energy Administration, 527 F.2d 1243 (Em.App.1975), affirming 400 F.Supp. 964 (S.D.Tex.1975), that when the Economic Stabilization Act of 1970 expired on April 30,1974, the FEA no longer had the authority to regulate gasoline service station rentals. On July 23, 1976, eight months after the decision of the Temporary Emergency Court of Appeals in Shell, ARCO filed an Application for Rescission and/or Modification of the FEA’s 1975 orders, seeking to have the orders set aside or declared invalid to the extent that those orders had regulated the rent charged Riley after April 30, 1974. The FEA…