Cimarex Energy Co. v. Mauboules

|)For the following reasons, I respectfully dissent.

In my opinion, the primary question before the court is simple: did the trial court commit manifest error in finding, as a matter of fact, Cimarex1 did not “state a reasonable cause” for its failure to timely pay the mineral royalties owed to Orange River? Whether an action was reasonable is a question best left to the sound judgment of the trial court, and I do not find any evidence of manifest error in the trial court’s holding. Indeed, the Mauboles’ claim to the royalties was so tenuous, both legally and factually, that no reasonable…