Top state court tosses ousting attempt
Lawsuit sought to unseat Hiett from corporation commissioner post
Members of Oklahoma’s Supreme Court unanimously agreed Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit seeking to remove Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett from office.
Hiett is one of three elected members to the regulatory agency that oversees oil and gas activities in Oklahoma, among other things.
Attorneys who brought the case seeking Hiett’s ouster, officially called a Writ of Quo Warranto, argued Hiett should have been forced to resign his seat because he is involved with a business that can be impacted by the board’s decisions.
They took issue with the commissioner’s active involvement as a member of the board of directors of SpiritBank in Tulsa. The bank underwrites commission-required surety bonds for oil and gas operators from time to time, and commissioners are sometimes asked to revoke those bonds as part of regulatory enforcement actions.
Hiett openly disclosed his activities
“Action dismissed for want of standing.” Oklahoma Supreme Court
as a SpiritBank board member before winning his first term as a commissioner in 2015.
He has repeatedly said he doesn’t involve himself in the bank’s surety bond decisions for oil and gas operators, and does not participate in commission votes where potential revocations of surety bonds issued by SpiritBank are considered as part of the agency’s regulatory regime.
In a related filing with the Supreme Court, Hiett’s attorneys argued past decisions issued by the Supreme Court held that Quo Warranto proceedings may only be brought by the state’s attorney general, a district attorney or a losing candidate with an interest in the office in question (provided the case is filed within 30 days of the winner being seated).
In this case, the Quo Warranto action was brought in July by former state Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, who justices agreed had no standing in questioning Hiett’s service.
Reynolds, who left Oklahoma’s Legislature in 2015 because of term limits, did not run against Hiett in 2020 as he sought re-election for the seat. Hiett easily won his race against independent challenger Todd Hagopian and started his final, six-year term as a commissioner in January.
The justices’ opinion issued Tuesday stated, “Petitioner has pled no facts suggesting he is entitled to office of corporation commissioner (and) acknowledges he does not meet court’s traditional requirements (for a Quo Warranto petition). Action dismissed for want of standing.”