Poffenbarger v. Merit Energy Co.

Pursuant to Rule 5, Ala. R.App. P., Patricia Poffenbarger and Michael Poffenbarger, husband and wife, appeal from a partial summary judgment entered by the Mobile Circuit Court in favor of Merit Energy Company ("Merit") and David Hertel, Merit's operations manager. We affirm.

I. Facts and Procedural History

In 1955, oil was discovered beneath the surface of land located in and around Citronelle, Alabama. This discovery led to the development of what is known as the "Citronelle oil field."

In 1995 and 1999, Merit acquired substantial interests in the Citronelle oil field. On August 29, 2002, a…