Opinion ID: 1154750
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Findings by the Jury and the Trial Court.

Text: The jury found that the defendants failed to act as a reasonably prudent operator and thereby breached implied covenants by (1) failing to blend Lea County ore with Eddy County ore during the second run from 1976 until shut-down; (2) high-grading the Lea County ore; (3) failing to sell Lea County ore at the highest and best price obtainable; (4) failing to account with fidelity and charging the plaintiffs' royalty account with improper charges; and (5) failing to surrender the leases when National ceased operations in 1968. The jury also found that the defendants committed fraud but that no additional damages for fraud should be awarded. The jury awarded the plaintiffs compensatory and punitive damages totaling $4,816,690.23, [6] with post-judgment interest at the rate of fifteen percent per year from the date of entry. In support of its finding of fraudulent concealment, the trial court found that the defendants misrepresented or deliberately did not disclose to the plaintiffs: (1) the true marketing scheme in the Central Farmers contract; (2) the true reason for failing to surrender the Lea County leases when the mine was temporarily closed in 1968; (3) the true risks to the plaintiffs in reopening the Lea County mine in 1976 without the benefit of higher grade ore for blending; (4) the true level of overhead allowable to the plaintiffs' royalty account from 1976 to 1982; and (5) the high-grading program.