Colorado appellate court declines to put case on hold

Boulder County, Colo. - On July 28, 2020, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County; and City of Lafayette v. Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission; and 8 North, LLC, can go forward, despite 8 North’s parent company, Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc., filing bankruptcy.

Bankruptcy filings can result in automatic “stays” or holds put on all pending litigation against the bankrupt party (as a subsidiary entity of Extraction, 8 North could qualify for that protection). However, the county, the city of Lafayette and the COGCC argued that the case should go forward and the appellate court agreed.

The appeal challenges COGCC policy of accepting only summary, unofficial evidence of mineral ownership from operators in its hearings. All briefs have been filed in the case; the next step will be scheduling of oral argument to the appeals court.

The appeals court decided to apply the automatic stay in another case, Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County v. 8 North, LLC; and Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc. That case alleges that 8 North caused a breach of a county-owned conservation easement and breached several county-owned oil and gas leases with a massive development proposal. The appeal will be on hold until the bankruptcy court issues any further direction or completes the bankruptcy proceedings.

Additional information about proceedings involving 8 North can be found on the county's oil and gas website under the 8 North LLC tab.