Lierly v. Tidewater Petroleum Corp.

¶ 1 Appellant presents two questions of law for certiorari review: 1) Is an oil and gas lessee subject to liability for malicious prosecution for seeking an injunction against the surface owner who interferes with lessee’s entry upon the land at a specific location? and 2) Is a defendant entitled to present closing argument on the amount of punitive damages in the second stage of a jury trial even though the plaintiff waives closing argument? We answer both questions in the affirmative. We hold the district court erred in refusing to allow defendant/appellant to make closing argument to the…