Smith Ex Rel. Class Composed of All Oil & Gas Royalty Owners v. Amoco Production Co.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Six, J.:

This case resolves whether a 3-or 5-year statute of limitations applies to an alleged breach of implied covenants in an oil and gas lease. The actions of defendant Amoco Production Company (Amoco), the producer lessee, under an implied covenant to market in a government-controlled gas price environment are also at issue. Although other jurisdictions have addressed the statute of limitations issue, Kansas has not. Also, we may be the first appellate court to be presented with the type of lessor royalty owner claims asserted here, i.e., breach of…