Hutchings v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc.

OPINION

KOEHLER, Justice.

This is an oil and gas case in which Chevron U.S.A sought a declaratory judgment defining its royalty obligations under a long term lease. The royalty owners, represented here by two groups (the Abel Appellants and Mobil-OXY), counterclaimed for underpaid royalties. By partial summary judgment, the trial court interpreted the casinghead gas royalty clause of the lease to provide for a ⅜ of four cents per mcf royalty on casinghead gas Chevron sold. At trial, the jury found that Chevron had not underpaid royalties. From a judgment on the verdict and the summary judgment,…