Turner v. XTO Energy, Inc., 19-2867

• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)
• Writing for the Court: WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.
• Citation: 989 F.3d 625
• Parties: J. B. TURNER, Plaintiff - Appellant v. XTO ENERGY, INC., Defendant - Appellee
• Docket Number: No. 19-2867,19-2867
• Decision Date: 25 February 2021

989 F.3d 625

J. B. TURNER, Plaintiff - Appellant
v.
XTO ENERGY, INC., Defendant - Appellee

No. 19-2867

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: January 14, 2021
Filed: February 25, 2021

Brian Gene Brooks, Greenbrier, AR, Erik P. Danielson, Danielson Law Firm, Fayetteville, AR, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Carl Michael Daily, Thomas A. Daily, Daily & Woods, Fort Smith, AR, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before COLLOTON, WOLLMAN, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

J.B. Turner appeals the district court's¹ grant of summary judgment in favor of XTO Energy, Inc. on Turner's claims of breach of contract and conversion. We affirm.

In 1980, the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (Commission) permitted XTO Energy's predecessors in interest to drill a well on Turner's drilling unit² in Franklin County, Arkansas. The Turner No. 1 Well was drilled to extract gas from two different geologic formations—the Hale Formation and the deeper Viola Formation—through the casing zone and the tubing zone respectively. The tubing zone consists of a smaller pipe, or string, that runs within the well's outer pipe or "casing." The production from the two zones is metered separately at the well head. Under the Commission's order, the gas from the two zones is not to be commingled because Turner's interests in the extracted gas differ depending on the formation from which it is extracted.

In 2016, Turner alleged that the gas from the two zones was being impermissibly commingled. The Commission ordered that the well cease production until the alleged commingling could be corrected. After the well was shut in, testing revealed that the pressures between the tubing zone and casing zone were equalized, suggesting that gas was flowing into the surface pipeline from both zones. It is undisputed that the well has continued to extract gas from the Hale Formation through the casing zone since the well was drilled.

As relevant to this appeal, Turner filed suit in Arkansas state court for breach of contract and conversion of payment. He argued that the equalized pressures between the zones are evidence that the Viola Formation is still producing gas through the Turner No. 1 Well and that he has not been paid for those extractions. XTO Energy removed the case to federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction and maintains that the well ceased producing gas from the Viola Formation through the tubing zone in 1982. After the close of discovery, XTO Energy moved for summary

989 F.3d 627

judgment. The district court determined that there was no genuine dispute that the Viola Formation had not been capable of production after 1982 and thus granted summary judgment in XTO Energy's favor.

We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo . Dick v. Dickinson State Univ., 826 F.3d 1054, 1058 (8th Cir. 2016) (standard of review). Summary judgment is appropriate if "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and [XTO Energy] is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). As the non-moving party, Turner "is entitled to all reasonable inferences—those that can be drawn from the evidence without resort to speculation." Sprenger v. Fed. Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, 253 F.3d 1106, 1110 (8th Cir. 2001) (internal citation and quotation marks omitted). "The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiff's position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the [factfinder] could reasonably find for the plaintiff." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). We conclude that Turner cannot survive summary judgment on his breach of contract or conversion claims because he has not set forth sufficient evidence to allow a factfinder to find that the Turner No. 1 Well has extracted gas from the Viola Formation after 1982.

XTO Energy's contention that...