Amber Resources Co. v. United States

OPINION

BRUGGINK, Judge.

For more than twenty years, the government has been holding over $1.22 billion in up-front bonuses paid by plaintiffs and their predecessors in exchange for forty undeveloped oil and gas leases off the California coast. The leases give plaintiffs the right to extract oil and gas provided that their exploration, development, and production activities *538receive agency approval pursuant to the applicable statutory and regulatory scheme. Because Congress’ 1990 amendment of the Coastal Zone Management Act breached the thirty-six leases subject to this motion, we hold that…