Seeco, Inc., Desoto Gathering Company, LLC, and Southwestern Midstream Services Company, Appellants v. Sara Stewmon…

Summary

The court affirmed class certification in a dispute concerning deductions from natural-gas royalties under standardized SEECO leases. It held that the interlocutory appeal was limited to issues directly related to certification, that the class definition was objectively ascertainable, and that the record supported each Rule 23 requirement. The court also upheld substitution of DeVazier as class representative and rejected SEECO's challenges to her adequacy and typicality. Justice Wood, concurring, agreed with the result but would not join the majority's discussion of concurrent jurisdiction and superintending authority, viewing those matters as dicta and appropriate for extraordinary-writ proceedings.