United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED March 23, 2022 No. 20-20237 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk

Vitol, Incorporated,

Plaintiff—Appellant,

versus

United States of America,

Defendant—Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 4:18-CV-2275

Before King, Elrod, and Willett, Circuit Judges. Don R. Willett, Circuit Judge: This interlocutory appeal poses a statutory-interpretation question of first impression: Is butane a “liquefied petroleum gas” (LPG) under 26 U.S.C. § 6426(d)(2)? Vitol claims that butane is an LPG and therefore an “alternative fuel” that can be mixed with a “taxable fuel” to qualify for the tax credit under § 6426(e). On these grounds, Vitol sued the United States in federal court, seeking an $8.8 million tax refund. Vitol moved for partial summary judgment on whether butane is an LPG under 26 U.S.C. § 6426(d)(2). The trial court denied the motion, concluding that butane is Case: 20-20237 Document: 00516251473 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/23/2022

No. 20-20237

not an LPG under 26 U.S.C. § 6426(d)(2), but certified its order for interlocutory appeal. Vitol argues that the common understanding of LPG includes butane—game over. The term LPG, however, as used in § 6426(d)(2)’s definition of alternative fuel, fits within a broader statutory scheme that precludes any taxable fuel from also qualifying as an alternative fuel. And butane is a taxable fuel under that same statutory scheme. Text cannot be divorced from context, and statutory meaning is not always common meaning. Congress’s words must be read as part of a contextual whole. We affirm the denial of partial summary judgment and conclude that butane is not an LPG under § 6426(d)(2). I. Background A. Factual and Procedural Background The parties do agree on the facts. Vitol sued the United States for a tax refund of $8.8 million, claiming that the IRS should have allowed a tax credit under 26 U.S.C. § 6426(e) for fuel blended with butane, a product Vitol introduced in 2013. Vitol argues that butane is a “liquefied petroleum gas” under § 6426(d)(2) and therefore an “alternative fuel” eligible for the § 6426(e) credit when mixed with a “taxable fuel.” The United States argues that butane is a “taxable fuel” and therefore not an eligible “alternative fuel.” Vitol sought partial summary judgment on the legal issue of whether butane is an LPG under § 6426(d)(2). The magistrate judge recommended that the district court deny the motion, concluding that butane was not an LPG under § 6426. The district court adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendations, overruling Vitol’s objections. The district court granted

2 Case: 20-20237 Document: 00516251473 Page: 3 Date Filed: 03/23/2022

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Vitol’s request to certify the order for interlocutory appeal and stayed the case. 1 We granted Vitol’s motion for leave to file an interlocutory appe