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181734P.pdf 02/06/2020 Hess Bakken Investments II v. Whitetail Wave
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 18-1734
and No: 18-1737
U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota - Bismarck
[PUBLISHED] [Smith, Author, with Gruender and Benton, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Oil and Gas. The district court did not err in determining
Hess did not owe defendants any fiduciary duty to extend or renew certain
leases; as a result defendants' argument that certain top leases were
extensions or renewals of the subject leases based on fiduciary duty
fails; nor did the court err in determining that the top leases were not
extensions or renewals of the original leases based on an argument that
the top leases were extensions of renewals based on the provisions of the
parties' contractual agreement; because the top leases were new leases,
the extension or renewal clause did not attach to the overriding royalty
interests to the top leases and did not burden them.