Bullion Monarch Mining, Inc. v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

We certified two questions of law to the Nevada Supreme Court in an order filed June 13, 2012. Bullion Monarch Mining, Inc. v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc., 686 F.3d 1041 (9th Cir.2012). We certified the following questions:

Id. at 1044.

The Nevada Supreme Court answered the first question in an opinion filed March 26, 2015. Bullion Monarch Mining, Inc. v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc., No. 61059, 345 P.3d 1040 , 2015 WL 1402635 (Nev. Mar. 26, 2015). The Court answered our first question in the negative, concluding under Nevada law that the Rule Against Perpetuities does not apply to the payment of area-of-interest royalties. Id., 345 P.3d at 1041, 2015 WL 1402635 , *1. Because it concluded the Rule does not apply, the Court did not answer the second question. Id. at 1044 , 2015 WL 1402635 , *5.

The district court based its summary judgment ruling in favor of Barrick on its conclusion that the Rule Against Perpetu-ities applied, and that it voided the area-of-interest royalty agreement that served as the basis for Bullion’s claim. Bullion Monarch Mining, Inc. v. Barrick Goldstrike Mines, Inc., No. 3:09-cv-00612-ECR-VPC, 2011 WL 484295 , at *8 (D.Nev. Feb. 7,…