TEXACO <TX> SEEKS PENNZOIL <PZL> CASE REHEARING
Texaco Inc said it has filed
a motion with the Texas Court of Appeals in Houston seeking a
rehearing of the court's decision to uphold most of Pennzoil
Co's 11.12 billion dlr judgment against Texaco.
    The company said its motion cites over 200 errors contained
in the February 12 appeals court decision, adding its "brief
simply 'rubberstamps' the original trial court judgment which
the company has said 'riddled with errors'."
    In support of its argument, Texaco's motion emphasized a
recent case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh
Circuit in Chicago in Skycom Corp v. Telstar Corp as
"unequivocal confirmation that the Texas Court's opinion is
wrong," according to Gibson Gayle, a Texaco attorney with the
Houston firm of Fulbright and Jaworski.
    "The United States Court of Appeals in Chicago issued the
ruling based on facts strikingly similar to the facts in the
Texaco-Pennzoil litigation," he said.
    "The question before the (federal appeals) court was
whether an "agreement in principle' subject to execution of
'formal documents' is a contract according to New York law.
    "The answer by the court was a resounding 'No' -- precisely
opposite the answer given by the Appellate Court in Texas,"
Gayle said.
    "The United States Court of appeals reached this decision
for the identical reasons that Texas and the Attorney General
of New York have cited in their briefs before the Texas
appellate court," he pointed out.
    "Texaco has consistently maintained that Pennzoil did not
have a binding contract to Buy Getty Oil shares, since a press
release announced only an 'agreement in principle' which was
'subject to the execution of a definitive merger agreement',"
according to Gayle.
 Reuter
