Continental Resources, Inc. v. de la Vega

The federal district court for the District of North Dakota dismissed without prejudice a lawsuit brought by an oil and gas exploration and production company in February 2021 to compel the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to act on applications for permit to drill (APDs) submitted in 2020 for oil and gas leases in North Dakota. The company submitted a notice of voluntary dismissal after BLM granted the APDs in February and March 2021.

An oil and gas exploration and production company operating oil and gas leases in North Dakota filed a lawsuit in the federal district court for the District of North Dakota to compel the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to act on applications for permit to drill (APDs) submitted in 2020. The company alleged that BLM would have approved the APDs but for Secretarial Order 3395 signed by the Acting Secretary of the Interior on January 20, 2021, which withdrew authority from BLM to approve the APDs and placed the authority in the hands of new presidential appointees. The company asserted that by failing to approve the APDs, the defendants had failed to meet non-discretionary obligations under the Mineral Leasing Act.