Norton Rose Fulbright earns oil and gas lease dispute win for Royalty Interests Partnership

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright secured a complete victory for Royalty Interests Partnership, LP (Royalty) in an oil and gas lease termination dispute with MBI Oil and Gas, LLC (MBI), obtaining summary judgment in the district court and recently prevailing on appeal. The lawsuit concerned minerals owned by Royalty in the Bakken Formation in McKenzie County, North Dakota.

The dispute, which began in 2022, centers around whether MBI’s 2013 oil and gas lease with Royalty expired after its three-year term ended in 2016. MBI never drilled a well or produced any oil or gas on the leased-premises but contended that its lease remained in effect due to ongoing production from the “Calhoun Well” that was located on the leased premises.

However, Royalty expressly reserved all rights to the Calhoun Well and its production from the lease’s granting clause, since it had been producing oil and gas before MBI’s lease was executed. Because of this, Royalty argued that MBI’s lease terminated at the end of its primary term.

The US District Court for North Dakota agreed with Royalty and granted summary judgment in the company’s favor last year, dismissing MBI’s claims, terminating its lease and awarding Royalty statutory damages and attorneys’ fees. The district court also affirmed the validity of the property’s current lease, held by co-defendant Grayson Mill Bakken, LLC.

MBI appealed the district court’s summary judgment order to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which issued its opinion affirming the district court’s ruling on July 25, 2025.

Norton Rose Fulbright senior counsel Will Moss (Houston) represented Royalty in the dispute. The firm has one of the largest oil and gas practices in the world with offices in every major market including Houston, where Norton Rose Fulbright has been advising clients in the energy industry for more than a century.

Hogan Thompson Schuelke LLP served as co-counsel, representing Grayson Mill Bakken, LLC. Pearce Durick PLLC acted as local counsel.