Rosario Doriott Domínguez and Hastings Woolston Speak on Recent Trends in Oil and Gas Royalty Appeals and Strategies to Overcome Judicial Deference

May 23, 2024

Ryan Law partner Rosario Doriott Domínguez and attorney Hastings Woolston, both of Ryan Law’s Denver Office, recently spoke on the topic of Recent Trends in Oil and Gas Royalty Appeals and Strategies to Overcome Judicial Deference at the Special Institute on Federal and Indian Oil & Gas Royalty Valuation and Management in Houston, Texas, presented by the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law.

Woolston provided institute attendees with an overview of the 61 federal oil and gas royalty appeals resolved by the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) since 2019, offering an assessment of recent trends in IBLA’s decision-making and a discussion of key federal regulations. He also demonstrated how the vast majority of royalty cases before the IBLA are resolved without any consideration of their merits. These cases are either dismissed for lack of jurisdiction or settled. He then concluded with strategies for industry and practitioners to consider when confronted with expiration of what is known as the Department of the Interior’s 33-month statutory review deadline, so as not to inadvertently permit interpretations or decisions of the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) to effectively bypass review.

Doriott Domínguez then provided institute attendees with an overview of the various judicial deference regimes applied in oil and gas royalty litigation ultimately brought in federal district courts under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). She discussed the extent to which judicial deference has been applied to interpretations of the Department of the Interior in recent royalty litigation, including how often (and under what circumstances) the agency’s final action(s) have been affirmed or reversed. She also provided insight into how each of the deference regimes are likely to continue to evolve in cases currently before the Supreme Court. She concluded with strategies for how industry and practitioners may overcome grants of deference when contesting interpretations of the Department of the Interior, especially in royalty appeals deprived of actual review by the Secretary or the IBLA due to the expiration of the 33-month statutory deadline.

Rosario Doriott Domínguez regularly advises companies in connection with the calculation, payment, and reporting of onshore and offshore, oil and gas royalties. She frequently defends companies in litigation involving Orders to Report and Pay and Orders for Restructured Accounting issued by ONRR (including its delegated State and Indian Tribal partners) and has appeared in numerous cases before the Director of ONRR, the Interior Board of Land Appeals, and in the 5th, 10th, and D.C. Circuits.

Hastings Woolston assists in litigation encompassing federal oil and gas royalty issues connected with the calculation, payment, and reporting of onshore and offshore, oil and gas royalties. He has either appeared or advised in cases before the Director of ONRR and the Interior Board of Land Appeals, and the 5th Circuit.

If you would like a copy of this presentation, or its accompanying paper, please reach out to Rosario Doriott Domínguez directly at [email protected].