Oil Lease Royalties Case Dismissed for Lack of Jurisdiction

The Tenth Circuit dismissed an oil royalties case Tuesday, affirming a lower court’s finding that it couldn’t hear the case because the oil and gas lessors pursuing the claims hadn’t exhausted their administrative remedies under Colorado law.

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruling followed multiple attempts by the plaintiffs to remount the litigation effort based on what they asserted were subsequent changes to state law.

The legal battle dates back to April 2020 when a class of Weld County, Colo., oil and gas lessors sued Noble Energy Inc and Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Onshore LP in ...