Opinion ID: 2831274
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Pre-Bowden Proceedings3

Text: This suit was filed as a putative class action on behalf of Texas royalty owners alleging Phillips underpaid oil and gas royalties. In September 2000, the trial court signed its first certification order, certifying three subclasses of royalty owners. Bowden, 247 S.W.3d at 694. On interlocutory appeal, the court of appeals reversed and remanded. Id. at 695. The royalty owners filed an amended certification motion, and in June 2002, following a hearing, the trial court entered 3 Our opinion in Bowden contains a lengthy description of the factual background leading up to that opinion. W e borrow from Bowden those portions that continue to be relevant in these proceedings. 3 the certification order at issue in Bowden. Id. The trial court again certified three subclasses of royalty owners, each of whom asserted a single claim for relief. Id. Subclasses 1 and 3 asserted a claim for breach of the implied covenant to market,4 while Subclass 2 (the GRA class) alleged Phillips breached uniform provisions in the GRAs governing the calculation of royalty payments. Id. at 695–96. On interlocutory appeal, the court of appeals reversed the certification order as to all three subclasses, holding that individual issues of liability would predominate over common issues. Id. at 694. The court of appeals further held, with respect to all three subclasses, that “the certification order impermissibly split the class members’ causes of action,” resulting in the application of res judicata to bar all unasserted breach of contract claims. Id. at 696. The court concluded that the class representatives’ “willingness to abandon” all such unasserted claims rendered them per se inadequate to represent the class. Id. at 696–97.