Hayes Fund for the First Untied Methodist Church of Welsh, LLC v. Kerr-McGee Rocky Mountain, LLC

This case was brought by the plaintiffs, mineral royalty owners, against defendants, mineral lessees and working interest owners, for unrecovered hydrocarbons after two wells ceased production. Following a lengthy bench trial, the district court concluded plaintiffs had not proven the operators caused any loss of hydrocarbons and dismissed their claims with prejudice. The single issue before the Louisiana Supreme Court was whether the district court committed manifest error in ruling in favor of defendants, finding their experts more credible than plaintiffs' expert. The Court of Appeal reversed. The Supreme Court found that the appellate court was incorrect in its analysis of the manifest error review standard, and after reviewing the record, the Supreme Court concluded there was a reasonable basis for the district court's conclusion on causation. Therefore, it's conclusion was not clearly erroneous. The Court reversed the Court of Appeals and reinstated the judgment of dismissal. View "Hayes Fund for the First Untied Methodist Church of Welsh, LLC v. Kerr-McGee Rocky Mountain, LLC" on Justia Law