Tawney v. Columbia Natural Resources, L.L.C.
Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
633 S.E.2d 22 (W. Va. 2006)
Relevant factsFree
CNR (defendant) routinely deducted post-production delivery, processing, and leakage costs from the one-eighth royalties owed to Tawney and other lessors (plaintiffs) under leases containing "at the well," "at the wellhead," or similar phrases, and the plaintiffs brought a class action seeking recovery of the deducted amounts across 2,258 leases.
IssueFree
Whether, to allocate to a lessor the costs of marketing and transportation, an oil and gas lease must expressly provide that the lessor shall bear some part of the costs incurred between the wellhead and the point of sale.