Suit: Oil Giant Owes $900M to Enslaved People's Heirs

Kneeland Youngblood, co-founder of private-equity firm Pharos Capital Group, acknowledges a victory in his $900 million lawsuit against one of America's largest oil companies wouldn't change his life. But "for many of my relatives it could be transformative," the Dallas-based investor fighting for recognition of his ancestors' claim to oil-rich land in Texas' Karnes County tells the Wall Street Journal. He claims his formerly enslaved great-great-grandfather, Louis Eckford, bought up 147.5 acres of land in the Eagle Ford shale in 1889—and that his descendants still retain a half-stake in the property where ConocoPhillips drills for oil.

Another family, the Korths, who've occupied and paid taxes on the land on which they now run a cattle operation for generations, claim they don't own the other half-stake but rather have full ownership. In his suit, Youngblood alleges ConocoPhillips has sided with the Korths—who are also named as defendants—so as to expedite drilling and avoid splitting royalty payments that could amount to millions.

The full- or half-share dilemma gets confusing: The Korths, who are white, say Eckford's wife Eliza passed her stake in the property to Fritz Korth as repayment for a $300 loan following her husband's death in 1896; the Korths say a trust deed backs that up. The Eckford descendants aren't so sure, and both sides differ on whether her stake was half or full. The Korths separately claim Fritz Korth in 1939 bought Louis' half, which because he had no will would have passed to his children under state law; but it's unclear whether the children ever knew they owned it. This past summer, a Texas jury decided the families co-own the land, though the Korth family plans to appeal the verdict.

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Drilling in the area heated up prior to 2010; the Korth family in 2008 signed a contract with ConocoPhillips "that reflected their shared half interest in the tract," per the Tribune. It wasn't until 2011 when ConocoPhillips started contacting some Eckford descendants to ask about leasing land from them that they learned of their claim to the land, per the Journal. Some Eckford heirs signed leases with ConocoPhillips before the Korths fought for full ownership of the land. Youngblood says he continues to fight what some say is an uphill battle because it could be life-changing for his relatives. He believes that if the case goes to trial, "we can get a lot more [than $900 million]." A law professor tells the Journal that $900 million in damages, unpaid royalties, and punitive penalties, is a lot to ask for so small a plot. But as Youngblood says, "This is about legacy." (More lawsuit stories.)