Shell Petroleum v. Graves

709 F.2d 593 SHELL PETROLEUM, N.V., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Mary Ann GRAVES, Kenneth Cory, Ernest J. Dronenburg, Jr., individually and as members of, and Gerald H. Goldberg, individually and Executive Officer of, The Franchise Tax Board, State of California, Defendants-Appellees. No. 82-4535. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted April 14, 1983. Decided June 30, 1983. John B. Lowry, McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, San Francisco, Cal., Paul M. Dodyk, New York City, for plaintiff-appellant. Patricia Streloff, Deputy Atty. Gen., San Francisco, Cal., for defendants-appellees. Lloyd N. Cutler, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, Washington, D.C., amicus curiae for the Netherlands. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Before TRASK, SKOPIL, and FERGUSON, Circuit Judges. TRASK, Circuit Judge. 1 Shell Petroleum N.V. (SPNV) appeals the dismissal of its action for declaratory and injunctive relief. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 (1976), SPNV sought to enjoin the California Franchise Tax Board from assessing taxes based on a "unitary" business formula against two companies in which SPNV was the majority…