Wyoming v. Oklahoma, 502 U.S. 437, 30 (1992)

Page:   Index   Previous  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  37  Next

466

WYOMING v. OKLAHOMA

Scalia, J., dissenting

denied, Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U. S. 242, 250- 251 (1986). To be entitled to prevail at this stage, therefore, Wyoming must have submitted "specific, concrete facts," Warth, supra, at 508, which when "viewed in the light most favorable" to Oklahoma "foreclose" all reasonable inferences that Wyoming was not injured by the Act, Adickes, supra, at 157. Wyoming has not in my view remotely carried that burden, and the Special Master's recommendation to grant its motion for summary judgment must be rejected.

The Special Master apparently thought Wyoming's injury unquestionable because it is undisputed that, since the Act's effective date, Oklahoma utilities have bought less Wyoming coal as a percentage of their coal purchases. Report of Special Master 11. I am willing to assume for the sake of argument that that undisputed fact compels the inference that less Wyoming coal was sold in Oklahoma as a result of the Act. To establish injury, however, Wyoming had to show not merely that the statute caused Oklahoma sales to be lost, but that it prevented Wyoming "severances" of coal from occurring. Wyoming does not tax sales of coal to Oklahoma utilities; it taxes severances. The loss of a particular Oklahoma sale would not hurt Wyoming's treasury at all unless (1) the coal that was the subject of that sale was not severed to be sold elsewhere, or (2) if it was severed to be sold elsewhere, that latter sale (and severance) would have occurred even if the Oklahoma sale had been made.

The Court o'erleaps this inconvenient obstacle by asserting that "a loss of specific tax revenues [is] an undisputed fact here." Ante, at 448. I cannot imagine where this helpful concession comes from. The Special Master listed the undisputed facts, and it is not among them. See Report of Special Master 2-10, 11.

The Court also appears to believe that the second of the above described means of connecting sales loss with tax loss is established by the fact that "Wyoming has a significant

Page:   Index   Previous  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  37  Next

Last modified: October 4, 2007