Sternberger v. Marathon Oil Co.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Abbott, J.:

This is a multistate oil and gas class action suit involving Kansas and non-Kansas plaintiffs who own royally and overriding royalty interests in oil and gas leases located in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Utah, and Colorado. The Louisiana, Utah, and Colorado leases are no longer in the case and are not in issue on appeal. Defendant Marathon Oil Company’s predecessor in interest, TXO Production Corp. (TXO), deducted from the royalties “marketing costs” or “gathering line amortization expenses” to recover a portion of its expenses in…