First Court Reverses Severance of Interwoven Midstream Cost Inflation Claims in Williston Basin JOA Dispute

A minority working interest owner in Williston Basin wells operated under a 1999 Joint Operating Agreement alleged that Chord Energy and affiliated midstream entities collusively inflated gas processing costs through 2017 Midstream Agreements, asserting ten claims including breach of contract, fraud, civil conspiracy, and alter ego theories against upstream operators, midstream service providers, and individual executives. The First Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's severance of dismissed tort claims from surviving contract claims, holding the claims were interwoven because each incorporated allegations that the parties "collusively agreed to artificially inflate gas processing costs" and risked inconsistent rulings on whether an express contract bars quasi-contract restitution theories.