Gerrity Bakken, LLC v. Oasis Petroleum N. Am., LLC
| Decision Date | 18 July 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. 20180017,20180017 |
| Parties | GERRITY BAKKEN, LLC, Plaintiff and Appellee v. OASIS PETROLEUM NORTH AMERICA, LLC, Zavanna, LLC, Zenergy, Inc., Zeneco, Inc., RoDa Drilling, LP, Split Creek Enterprises, LLC, Wild Basin Oil and Gas, LLC, Cody Oil & Gas Corporation, Mirada Energy, LLC, Mirada Wild Basin Holding Company, LLC, Admiral A. Holding L.P., TE Admiral A. Holding, L.P., Zeneco IV, LLC, Wild Basin Fund, LLC, Orrion Energy, LLC, Mescalero Minerals, LLC, Robert McNamara, Tracey S. McNamara, Michele R. Knotts, Roanie Ponie, LLC, Crown Coast Investments, LLC, Richard E. Siler, Deborah J. Siler, BWAMM II, LLC, MMCDT, LLC, Julie A. Finegan, Pamela Cortese, Glenn E. Land, Keith M. Crouch, Jeanne E. Crouch, Devereux Foundation, Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School, Family Counseling Service of West San Gabriel Valley, Patricia A. Murray and John S. Murray, Trustees Murray Oil Trust Two, Bridgepoint Mineral Acquisition Fund 2, LLC, Hat Creek Royalty, LTD, and all other persons unknown claiming any estate or interest in, or lien or encumbrance upon, the property described in the complaint, Defendants and Herma C. Altshule and Joel Altshule, Trustees of the Altshule 1988 Trust Dated March 3, 1988, Wood River Investment Co., LLC, Richard D. and Carole J. Sukman, Trustees of the Sukman Family Trust Dated 5/1/1991, Murray Oil Trust Two, Nancy A. Murray trustee, Defendants and Appellants and Zenergy, Inc., Zavanna, LLC, Zeneco, Inc., Michele R. Knotts, Roanie Ponie, LLC, Crown Coast Investments, LLC, Richard E. Siler, Deborah J. Siler, RoDa Drilling, LP, Zeneco IV, LLC, Mescalero Minerals, LLC, Robert McNamara, Tracey S. McNamara, Mirada Wild Basin Holding Company, LLC, Orrion Energy, LLC, Wild Basin Fund, LLC, Mirada Energy Fund I, LLC, Wild Basin Oil and Gas, LLC, Admiral A. Holding L.P., TE Admiral A. Holding, L.P., and Split Creek Enterprises, LLC, Defendants and Appellees |
| Court | North Dakota Supreme Court |
Andrew K. Glenn (argued) and Karen L. Spaulding (on brief), Denver, Colorado, David P. Bolda (on brief), Highland, Utah, and Kerrie L. Farrell (appeared), Bismarck, North Dakota, for plaintiff and appellee Gerrity Bakken, LLC.
Ariston E. Johnson (argued), Watford City, North Dakota, for defendants and appellants Herma C. Altshule and Joel Altshule, Trustees of the Altshule 1988 Trust Dated March 3, 1988, Wood River Investment Co., LLC, Richard D. and Carole J. Sukman, Trustees of the Sukman Family Trust Dated 5/1/1991, and Murray Oil Trust Two, Nancy A. Murray trustee.
Lawrence Bender (on brief), Bismarck, North Dakota, for defendants and appellees Zenergy, Inc., Zavanna, LLC, Zeneco, Inc., Michele R. Knotts, Roanie Ponie, LLC, Crown Coast Investments, LLC, Richard E. Siler, Deborah J. Siler, RoDa Drilling, LP, Zeneco IV, LLC, Mescalero Minerals, LLC, Robert McNamara, Tracey S. McNamara, Mirada Wild Basin Holding Company, LLC, Orrion Energy, LLC, Wild Basin Fund, LLC, Mirada Energy Fund I, LLC, Wild Basin Oil and Gas, LLC, Admiral A. Holding L.P., TE Admiral A. Holding, L.P., and Split Creek Enterprises, LLC.
[¶ 1] Herma Altshule and others ("Altshule defendants") appeal from a judgment in a quiet title action construing two mineral deeds in favor of Gerrity Bakken, LLC. Because the district court did not err in its construction of the deeds and in quieting title, we affirm the judgment.
[¶ 2] This case involves two mineral deeds issued by Alice Rozan to Gustave Goldstein and William Murray in 1964. At the time, Rozan owned the following interests in McKenzie Country land relevant to this case: "An undivided ½ interest in and to all of the oil, gas and other minerals in and under ... [property description]"; "An undivided 10/200 th interest in and to all of the oil, gas and other minerals in and under ... [property description]"; and "An undivided ? interest in and to all of the oil, gas and other minerals in and under ... [property description]."
[¶ 3] Rozan conveyed the following to Goldstein:
[¶ 4] Rozan conveyed the following to Murray:
[¶ 5] Through numerous conveyances over the years, the Altshule defendants, Devereaux Foundation, and Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School succeeded to part of the interests of Goldstein and Murray. In 2011 Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School and Devereux Foundation granted oil and gas leases to Robert Gerrity, who assigned his interests to various companies culminating in Gerrity Bakken holding the leases. All conveyances and assignments were duly recorded.
[¶ 6] After production began on the property, Pacific Oaks College and Children’s School, Devereux Foundation, and others brought a quiet title action in 2013 naming as defendants the Altshule defendants and others. Gerrity Bakken was not named as a party, nor was Gerrity or any intermediate holder of the leases. The amended complaint also did not include as defendants " ‘[a]ll other persons unknown claiming any estate or interest in, or lien or encumbrance upon, the property described in the complaint.’ " N.D.C.C. § 32-17-05 (). The parties argued about the extent of the interests Rozan conveyed to Goldstein and Murray in the 1964 mineral deeds. The district court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, concluding:
The unambiguous intent of Alice F. Rozan in making the Murray Deed and the Goldstein Deed was to convey the fraction stated in the granting clause of each deed (three-fortieths as to the Murray Deed and one-eighth as to the Goldstein Deed) as to the whole of each property legally described thereafter.
[¶ 7] Shortly after judgment was entered in the 2013 quiet title action, Gerrity Bakken commenced this second quiet title action against the Altshule defendants, other persons of record, and "all other persons unknown claiming" an interest in the property, seeking an interpretation of the Goldstein and Murray deeds. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Gerrity Bakken, and arrived at a conclusion different from that reached by the court in the 2013 action:
Every term of the deed must be given effect, if possible. Therefore, the ? th interest granted to Gustave Goldstein needs to be reduced by the subsequent fractions, namely 10/200 ths and ½ in the legal descriptions. Likewise, the 3/40 th interest granted to William S. Murray needs to be reduced by 10/200 ths and ½ in the legal descriptions.
[¶ 8] Our standard for reviewing summary judgments is well-established:
Summary judgment is a procedural device for the prompt resolution of a controversy on the merits without a trial if there are no genuine issues of material fact or inferences that can reasonably be drawn from undisputed facts, or if the only issues to be resolved are questions of law. A party moving for summary judgment has the burden of showing there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. In determining whether summary judgment was appropriately granted, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, and that party will be given the benefit of all favorable inferences which can reasonably be drawn from the record. On appeal, this Court decides whether the information available to the district court precluded the existence of a genuine issue of material fact and entitled the moving party to judgment as a matter of law. Whether the district court properly granted summary judgment is a question of law which we review de novo on the entire record.
Arnegard v. Arnegard Twp. , 2018 ND 80, ¶ 18, 908 N.W.2d 737 (quoting Poppe v. Stockert , 2015 ND 252, ¶ 4, 870 N.W.2d 187 ).
[¶ 9] The Altshule defendants argue the district court erred in interpreting the 1964 deeds from Rozan to Goldstein and Murray. In Johnson v. Shield , 2015 ND 200, ¶ 7, 868 N.W.2d 368, we explained:
We interpret deeds in the same manner as we interpret contracts. N.D.C.C. § 47-09-11. The primary purpose in construing a deed is to ascertain and effectuate the grantor’s intent at the time of the conveyance. Wagner v. Crossland Constr. Co., Inc. , 2013 ND 219, ¶ 8, 840 N.W.2d 81 ; N.D.C.C. § 9-07-03. The intent must be ascertained from the writing alone, if possible. N.D.C.C. § 9-07-04. A contract must be construed as a whole to give effect to each provision, if reasonably possible. N.D.C.C. § 9-07-06. If rational arguments can be made in support of contrary positions as to the term, phrase, or clause in question, a deed is ambiguous and a district court may consider extrinsic evidence to determine the parties’ intent. In re Estate of Dionne , 2009 ND 172, ¶ 16, 772 N.W.2d 891. Whether a deed is ambiguous is a question of law, which is fully reviewable on appeal. Wagner , at ¶ 8.
[¶ 10] The Altshule defendants argue the ? th and 3/40 ths fractions in the granting clauses should be applied to 100 percent of the property described in the deeds. Gerrity...
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