Saddleback Exploration, LLC v. Brunelle et al

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
HOUSTON DIVISION
SADDLEBACK EXPLORATION, LLC,
Interpleader-Plaintijf, §
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V.
BARBARA BRUNELLE, ET AL.,
Defendants.
CIVILACTI ONNO. 4:23cv3091
ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S
MEMORANDUM AND RECOMMENDATION
Having reviewed the Magistrate Judge's Memorandum and Recommendation dated
December 18, 2025, (Dkt. 150) and no party having filed objections thereto, the court is of the
opinion that said Memorandum and Recommendation should be adopted in part by this Court.
It is ORDERED that the Magistrate Judge's Memorandum and Recommendation is hereby
ADOPTED to the extent described below:
Hart Revocable Trust's Supplemental Motion for Summary Judgment1 (Dkt. 138) is
GRANTED to the extent it seeks a determination that:
Hart Revocable Trust ("Hart") owns a nonparticipating royalty interest ("Hart NPRI Floating
Royalty Interest") that is a floating royalty interest of 1/2 x "1/64 of 1/8 of the landowner's 1/8
royalty interest" in SE4NW4 of Section 6 and 1/2 x "1/64 of 1/8 of the landowner's 1/8 royalty
interest" in the SE4 of Section 6 within the South 3/4ths of Section 6, Block B-6, Public School Land
Survey, A-1310, 482.5 acres, more or less, in Winkler County, Texas;
1 Hart Revocable Trust moved for summary judgment as Interpleade'r Defendant and
Counter-Plaintiff. Dkt 138. Hart's counterclaim seeks payment from the interpleader fund as to
its interest against the interests of any adverse claimants or the Interpleader Plaintiff. Dkt. 30 ,,
89-92. Given that interpleader actions are brought by interpleader plaintiffs to avoid multiple
liability and the process involves the interpleader defendants litigatmg their claims to the fund
among themselves, this is the same relief to which Hart would be entitled in the interpleader
proceeding. Therefore, the Court conflates the relief Hart seeks as Interpleader Defendant and
Counter-Plaintiff.
United States District Court
Southern District of Texas
ENTERED
February 27, 2026
Nathan Ochsner, Clerk
Case 4:23-cv-03091 Document 159 Filed 02/27/26 in TXSD Page 1 of 2

Hart's ownership of the Hart NPRI Floating Royalty Interest entitles Hart to be paid a royalty
from the Stonegate 6 No. IH well equal to 0.00024414 percent of production, calculated in
accordance with the lessee's royalty payment terms in the present lease covering the NPRI property,
and the payments are to be calculated as a percentage of the royalty payable to the lessor under the
lease governing production of oil and/or gas from the NPRI property.
It is further ORDERED that Hart's request for payment from Plaintiff of the proceeds of
production attributable to its nonparticipating royalty interest held in suspense by the Plaintiff is
DENIED. The Court will order disbursement of the interpleader funds in a separate order upon a
determination of the interests of all remaining parties. See FED. R. CIV. P. 54(b).
It is further ORDERED that Hart's request for a determination that it is entitled to timely
payment of its nonparticipating royalty payments in the future pursuant to the statutes of the State
of Texas and to the terms of the lease governing the production and sale of oil and/or gas from its
nonparticipating royalty interest is DENIED. The issue of future payments under the terms of the
lease is not properly before the Court in this interpleader action and is also not within the scope of
Hart's counterclaim.
SIGNED at Houston, Texas this 	2"1 JI. day of February, 2026.
7
SIM LAKE
SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Case 4:23-cv-03091 Document 159 Filed 02/27/26 in TXSD Page 2 of 2