Reynolds-Rexwinkle Oil, Inc. v. Petex, Inc.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

LARSON, J.:

The difficult legal question in this appeal is whether an overriding royalty interest held by Reynolds-Rexwinkle Oil, Inc., (Reynolds) in an oil and gas lease terminated upon expiration of the lease or whether it extended to a subsequent oil and gas top lease on the same acreage negotiated by the assignee of the initial lease, Petex, Inc., (Petex) and the landowners.

The trial court ruled the later oil and gas lease was burdened by Reynolds’ overriding royalty interest, granted Reynolds’ motion for summary judgment, and ordered prejudgment…