No. 22-2020 ___________________________

WPX Energy Williston, LLC,

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee,

v. Honorable B.J. Jones, in his capacity as Associate Judge of the Three Affiliated Tribes District Court; Three Affiliated Tribes District Court,

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellants. ___________________________

No. 22-2025 ___________________________

WPX Energy Williston, LLC,

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee,

v.

Gabriel L. Fettig; Howard Fettig; Charles Fettig; Morgan Fettig,

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellants, ____________

Appeals from United States District Court for the District of North Dakota - Western ____________ Submitted: February 16, 2023 Filed: July 3, 2023 ____________ Before COLLOTON, BENTON, and KELLY, Circuit Judges. ____________ COLLOTON, Circuit Judge.

These appeals arise from a dispute over rights-of-way granted to WPX Energy Williston, LLC by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The areas are located on allotments of land owned by members of the Fettig family within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. WPX Energy and the Fettigs agreed to a condition, which was incorporated into the grants, that bans smoking on the right-of-way land.

In 2020, the Fettigs sued WPX Energy in the Three Affiliated Tribes District Court, alleging that the company breached the smoking ban. WPX Energy moved to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. The tribal court concluded that it possessed jurisdiction over the case, and denied the motion to dismiss. WPX Energy appealed the decision to a tribal appellate court.

Before the tribal appellate court issued a decision, WPX Energy brought this action in federal district court, seeking a preliminary injunction to enjoin the action in tribal court from proceeding. The district court concluded that WPX Energy had exhausted its tribal court remedies, and that the tribal court lacked jurisdiction, so it granted a preliminary injunction.

We conclude that WPX Energy did not exhaust its tribal court remedies, and that a ruling in federal court on the question of tribal court jurisdiction was premature. We therefore vacate the injunction and remand to the district court with directions to dismiss the complaint without prejudice.

-2- I.

WPX Energy drills and operates oil and gas wells and owns mineral interests within the Fort Berthold Reservation. Gabriel, Howard, Charles, and Morgan Fettig are enrolled members of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation, also called the Three Affiliated Tribes. The Fettigs own four allotments of land on the Fort Berthold Reservation that were designated for oil and gas production by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Companies may obtain rights-of-way across tribal or individually-owned Indian land by submitting an application to the Bureau. The Bureau is authorized to grant such rights-of-way on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior. See 25 U.S.C. §§ 323-328; 25 C.F.R. § 169.101. As part of the application process, a company seeking a right-of-way must obtain consent from the tribe or individual landowners. See 25 U.S.C. § 324; 25 C.F.R. § 169.107. When arranging consent from landowners, the parties may agree to additional “restrictions or conditions” and “negotiated remedies” that are incorporated into the grant. See 25 C.F.R. §§ 169.10