Utah court to hear appeal

In the final stage of a lawsuit which began more than 20 years ago, the Utah Supreme Court will hear final oral arguments on an appeal by Gold Standard (NASDAQ) in its case against Getty Oil (taken over in 1984 by Texaco).

The case stems from a 1973 joint venture between Gold Standard and Getty for the Mercur gold mine in Utah.

The company claims its 25% interest in the mine was improperly transferred into a 15% net profits interest and that Getty failed to provide a proper feasibility study.

The case went to trial, and in September, 1993, a jury awarded Gold Standard US$404 million in damages. But a week later, the judge overturned the jury’s verdict. The appeal challenges the judge’s decision.

The mine was sold to Barrick Gold (NYSE) in 1985 when Texaco divested itself of non-petroleum assests. Barrick was included as a codefendent in the litigation but settled separately with Gold Standard in May, 1993.