July 25th, 2016
The United States District Court for the Northern District Court of West Virginia certified the following questions to this Court:
1. Does Tawney v. Columbia Natural Resources, LLC, 219 W.Va. 266, 633 S.E.2d 22 (2006), which was decided after the enactment of West Virginia Code § 22-6-8, have any effect upon the Court’s decision as to whether a lessee of flat-rate lease, converted pursuant to West Virginia Code § 22-6-8, may deduct post-production expenses from his lessor’s royalty, particularly with respect to the language of “1/8 at the wellhead” found in West Virginia Code § 22-6-8?
2. Does West Virginia Code § 22-6-8 prohibit flat-rate royalties only for wells drilled or reworked after the statute’s enactment and modify only royalties paid on a per-well basis where permits for new wells or to modify existing wells are sought, or do the provisions of West Virginia Code § 22-6-8 abrogate flat-rate leases in their entirety?
