North Dakota high court backs state in oil company dispute

By JAMES MacPHERSON
Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Supreme Court has reversed a lower court decision that sided with a Houston-based energy company in a dispute involving oil and natural gas royalties. It’s a decision that could eventually mean millions of dollars for the state’s public schools and colleges. The case stems from a lawsuit Newfield Exploration filed against the state after the Department of Trust Lands conducted an audit in 2016 that claimed the company was underpaying royalties to the agency. Judge Robin Schmidt’s ruled last year that the state’s claim of a breach of contract could not be proven. In a unanimous ruling Thursday, the high court’s justices said the lower court should have focused on state’s position that the company underpaid royalties.