Bechtholdt v. Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc.

CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 9, 2026
Docket25CA0227
StatusUnpublished

This text of Bechtholdt v. Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc. (Bechtholdt v. Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bechtholdt v. Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc., (Colo. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

The summaries of the Colorado Court of Appeals published opinions constitute no part of the opinion of the division but have been prepared by the division for the convenience of the reader. The summaries may not be cited or relied upon as they are not the official language of the division. Any discrepancy between the language in the summary and in the opinion should be resolved in favor of the language in the opinion.

SUMMARY July 9, 2026

2026 COA 57

No. 25CA0227, Bechtholdt v. Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc. — Real Property — Quiet Title; Civil Procedure — Judgment Upon Multiple Claims or Involving Multiple Parties

Keith v. Kinney, 961 P.2d 516 (Colo. App. 1997), held that a

quiet title claim that was not resolved by a district court as to all

parties was improperly certified as final under C.R.C.P. 54(b). This

case presents a similar issue but one not addressed in Kinney: the

propriety of a district court’s certification and entry of final

judgment resolving certain claims pursuant to Rule 54(b) while the

plaintiff’s quiet title claim remains unresolved. Under the

circumstances, a division of the court of appeals concludes that the

district court erred by certifying and entering a final judgment on

plaintiff’s mineral trespass and unjust enrichment claims (as well

as remedial requests for accounting and restitution) because

resolution of those claims directly affects what relief, if any, plaintiff or others alleging an interest in the subject property may obtain

under plaintiff’s quiet title claim. Likewise, the quiet title action

must be resolved as to all parties because plaintiff’s secondary

claims — such as civil theft and fraud — are “incapable of final

resolution” for purposes of Rule 54(b) certification, Corinthian Hill

Metro. Dist. v. Keen, 812 P.2d 721, 722 (Colo. App. 1991), as

plaintiff alleges entitlement to monies involving the same subject

property at issue in the quiet title action. Based on the division’s

conclusions, the appeal is dismissed without prejudice. COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS 2026 COA 57

Court of Appeals No. 25CA0227 Weld County District Court No. 23CV30558 Honorable Shannon D. Lyons, Judge

Robert D. Bechtholdt, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Betty J. Bechtholdt,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc., Ventana Property Owners’ Association, Ronald P. Wagner, Tammie M. Wagner, Jon David Hergert, Hereti Corporation, Inc., TLC Directional Drilling, Inc., Matthew T. Hergert, Hergert Milling, Inc., Matthew T. Hergert Trust, and C. David Hergert,

Defendants-Appellees.

APPEAL DISMISSED

Division III Opinion by JUDGE JOHNSON Martinez* and Berger*, JJ., concur

Announced July 9, 2026

Practus, LLP, John Cardinal Parks, Denver, Colorado, for Plaintiff-Appellant

Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, Jennifer Allen, Maxwell Hamilton, Denver, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellee Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc.

Witwer, Oldenburg, Barry & Groom, LLP, Patrick M. Groom, Francis L. Kailey, Greeley, Colorado, for Defendant-Appellee Ventana Property Owners’ Association

Fisherbroyles, LLP, Frank Porada, Denver, Colorado, for Defendants-Appellees Ronald P. Wagner and Tammie M. Wagner Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow & Farbes, Stanley L. Garnett, Robert L. Barlow, David Chipman, Kristin L. Arthur, and Kate Leisner, Denver, Colorado, for Defendants-Appellees Jon David Hergert, Hereti Corporation, Inc., TLC Directional Drilling, Inc., Matthew T. Hergert, and Matthew T. Hergert Trust

Keller Law, LLC, Jenna H. Keller, Jacy T. Rock, Teresa M. Abel, Craig, Colorado, for Defendants-Appellees Hergert Milling, Inc. and C. David Hergert

*Sitting by assignment of the Chief Justice under provisions of Colo. Const. art. VI, § 5(3), and § 24-51-1105, C.R.S. 2025. ¶1 This case requires us to address an issue similar to the one

decided in Keith v. Kinney, 961 P.2d 516, 519 (Colo. App. 1997).

That case held that a quiet title action is not an appropriate claim

to be certified as final under C.R.C.P. 54(b) when the district court

has not resolved all the parties’ rights to the subject property.

Kinney dealt solely with a quiet title claim. This case presents a

situation in which the district court certified and entered a final

judgment resolving other claims (or requests for remedial relief)

pursuant to Rule 54(b) but left unresolved the quiet title claim. For

many of the same reasons Kinney determined that Rule 54(b)

certification was inappropriate there, we conclude that the

unresolved quiet title claim and the other claims (or requests for

relief) in this litigation are not separable from the certified claims.

1 ¶2 Plaintiff, Betty J. Bechtholdt (Betty),1 through Robert D.

Bechtholdt (Robert),2 as personal representative for her estate,

appeals the district court’s dismissal of the estate’s mineral

trespass and unjust enrichment claims and requests for an

accounting and for restitution against defendants Extraction Oil &

Gas, Inc. (Extraction), Ventana Property Owners’ Association

(Ventana POA), and lot owners Tammie M. Wagner and Ronald P.

Wagner (the Wagners), based on the court’s certification of its order

on those claims under Rule 54(b). Betty also appeals the district

court’s denial of her motion to reconsider.

¶3 Given the complex title history of the property — much of it

disputed by the parties — we conclude that the district court erred

by certifying its order as final and appealable under Rule 54(b).

This is because many of the estate’s claims addressed in the

1 At the time this appeal was filed, Betty was alive. During this appeal, Betty died and Robert filed a motion to substitute Betty’s estate as the real party in interest. Even though Robert is now the real party in interest, we refer to Betty throughout, as it was her arguments that sought and obtained C.R.C.P. 54(b) certification of the orders at issue. 2 We refer to individuals by their first names in this opinion because

many of the parties share the same last names. We intend no disrespect in doing so.

2 certification are inextricably linked with pending claims not resolved

by the court. As a result, we conclude that the court’s certification

order does not satisfy the first two of the factors from Harding Glass

Co. v. Jones, 640 P.2d 1123, 1125 n.2 (Colo. 1982) — that is, the

order does not dispose of an entire claim for relief, and the

decisions may not be final as to the certified claims. Because of our

disposition, we need not address the third Harding Glass factor.

¶4 Therefore, we dismiss the appeal without prejudice for lack of

jurisdiction and do not address any other arguments raised. See

Goodall v. Gentry-Cunningham, 2024 CO 52, ¶¶ 11-12.

I. Background

¶5 Like many property disputes, this case involves a long and

winding history. Because we are not resolving any issues in this

appeal on the merits, this background is solely for purposes of our

Rule 54(b) analysis. The district court is not bound by any of our

statements of the facts.

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