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Commitments and Contingencies | 6 Months Ended
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Jun. 30, 2013
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] |
Commitments and Contingencies | Note 6 - Commitments and Contingencies Commitments There have been no material changes from the commitments disclosed in the notes to the Company’s consolidated financial statements included in the 2012 Form 10-K. Contingencies The Company is subject to litigation and claims arising in the ordinary course of business. The Company accrues for such items when a liability is both probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. In the opinion of management, the results of such pending litigation and claims will not have a material effect on the results of operations, the financial position, or the cash flows of the Company. On January 27, 2011, Chieftain Royalty Company (“Chieftain”) filed a Class Action Petition against the Company in the District Court of Beaver County, Oklahoma, claiming damages related to royalty valuation on all of the Company’s Oklahoma wells. These claims include breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, unjust enrichment, tortious breach of contract, conspiracy, and conversion, based generally on asserted improper deduction of post-production costs. The Company removed this lawsuit to the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma on February 22, 2011. The Company has responded to the petition and denied the allegations. The court has not yet ruled on Chieftain’s motion to certify the putative class, and has stayed all proceedings until the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issues its ruling on class certification in two similar royalty class action lawsuits. On July 9, 2013, the Tenth Circuit issued its opinions, reversing the trial courts’ grant of class certification and remanding the matters to the trial courts. As of the filing date of this report, this matter remains stayed. This case involves complex legal issues and uncertainties; a potentially large class of plaintiffs, and a large number of related producing properties, lease agreements and wells; and an alleged class period commencing in 1988 and spanning the entire producing life of the wells. Because the proceedings are in the early stages, with substantive discovery yet to be conducted, the Company is unable to estimate what impact, if any, the action will have on its financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. The Company is still evaluating the claims, but believes that it has properly paid royalties under Oklahoma law and has and will continue to vigorously defend this case. In an unrelated matter, the Company recorded an estimated liability of $14.2 million related to ongoing discussions to clarify the royalty payment provisions of various leases on certain South Texas & Gulf Coast acreage.

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