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 Sue Ann Arnall's appeal assails as "inappropriate" Judge Howard
Haralson's decision to allow lawyers for both her ex-husband and his
oil company, Continental Resources, to "double team" her during an
epic divorce trial.
It also disputes the court's acceptance of a revised version of
Continental's corporate history that falsely dates hugely profitable
moves as occurring before the couple's 26-year marriage began.
The Nov. 10 ruling being appealed ordered Hamm to pay Arnall around
$1 billion, including cash and assets, over a period of years. The
divorce judgment ranks as one of the largest in U.S. history, but
allowed Harold Hamm to retain most of the wealth stemming from his
68 percent Continental stake as "separate property."
During trial, Arnall’s lawyers had valued the marital estate at
around $18 billion.
Arnall’s lawyers contend that Haralson miscalculated what was due to
her by attributing only a small portion of a $14 billion rise in the
value of his Continental shares during the marriage to the efforts
and skills of either spouse.
 Harold Hamm's attorney, Craig Box, earlier called the ruling fair.
He didn’t return a request for comment on Friday.
During a 10-week trial that ended in October, the CEO argued that
Continental’s growth stemmed mostly from passive factors, including
rising oil prices. Under Oklahoma law, only the “active” portion of
wealth accrued during marriage in previously acquired assets is
subject to division.
Hamm founded Continental in 1967, more than two decades before the
couple wed in 1988. The vast majority of its growth came during the
marriage. Today, Continental is the top lease holder in the prolific
Bakken oil play and Hamm is believed to own more oil than any other
American.
"As Sue Ann has stated previously, 6 percent is not a fair
proportion of the wealth the couple accumulated during their
marriage, and she trusts that a more equitable division of the
marital estate will result from this appeal," her legal team said in
a statement.
The appeal document lists dozens of issues her lawyers believe
Haralson erred on. It calls his accounting of Hamm’s separate
property “excessive, contrary to law and against the clear weight of
the evidence.”
Only $1.4 billion in Continental’s rising value during marriage was
divided by the court, and Arnall contends the judge didn’t explain
how he reached that figure. Continental’s growth was active, she
contended at trial, stemming mostly from her husband’s deft
management.
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Arnall, who was a lawyer for Continental when she and Hamm married
and went on to take a series of executive roles at the exploration
and production company also claims that Haralson undervalued her own
contributions to the couple’s wealth.
In addition, the judge “inappropriately” allowed Continental’s
general counsel to play a broad role in the case, which amounted to
Hamm and Continental “double teaming” her, according to the appeal.
The judge allowed Continental’s lawyer to attend and participate in
the divorce hearings of the CEO, and Continental also successfully
pressed the court to close the trial to the public, Reuters reported
earlier.
Arnall also claims the court wrongly accepted Hamm’s argument that
strategic moves which would result in huge profits for Continental
were made prior to the marriage, including shifting the company's
focus to oil exploration from gas, and beginning exploration in the
Rockies region.
As Reuters reported in September, Continental made revisions to its
corporate timeline this year, striking prior references to those
shifts coming in 1988 or later.
Legal experts say the divorce appeals process could drag on for two
years or more.
Continental shares fell 1.6 percent on Friday afternoon to $38.25
per share, near a 19-month low. The shares have plunged by more than
50 percent since mid September, as oil prices sputtered to five-year
lows.
(Editing by David Gregorio and Christian Plumb)
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