Arnold Oil Properties, L.L.C. v. Schlumberger Technology Corp.

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Arnold Oil hired Schlumberger to help construct an oil well. When the well wasn’t finished properly, each side blamed the other. Ultimately, Arnold Oil sued for *716 breach of contract and negligence; Schlumberger returned fire with a counterclaim alleging it was Arnold Oil that breached the parties’ contract. At trial, a jury returned a verdict for Arnold Oil and awarded $350,000 in damages. See Arnold Oil Props., LLC v. Schlumberger Tech. Corp., 672 F.3d 1202, 1204 (10th Cir.2012) (affirming damages award).

That was not the end of the matter. After trial, Arnold Oil sought to recover its attorney’s fees under Okla. Stat. tit. 12, § 936 (A). The district court agreed that § 936(A) applied to this diversity dispute and, after carefully scrutinizing Arnold Oil’s bills, issued an award that was about 25% less than what Arnold Oil sought ($229,743.37 out of $304,929.82 claimed).

Now Schlumberger returns to this court seeking to overturn this fee award. Schlumberger acknowledges that § 936(A) authorizes attorney fees for parties prevailing on claims seeking to recover for “labor and services rendered.” ONEOK, Inc. v. Ming, 962 P.2d 1286, 1288 (Okla. 1998). But…