The case of White Star Petroleum, LLC v. MUFG Union Bank, N.A. presented two questions of state law certified to the Oklahoma Supreme Court by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Oklahoma: (1) Are the “trust funds” create[d] by Title 42 O.S. § 144.2, entitled “Creation and Appropriation of Trust Funds for Payment of Lienable Claims,” limited to obligations due nonoperator joint working interest owners, or do such funds include payments due [to] holders of mechanic’s and materialmen’s liens arising under and perfected by Title 42 O.S. § 144? (2) Does the Oil and Gas Owners’ Lien Act of 2010 grant an operator and non-operator working interest owner a lien in proceeds from purchasers of oil and gas which is prior and superior to any claim of the holder of a mechanic’s and materialmen’s lien asserted under Title 42 O.S. § 144? The above questions were certified to aid in the bankruptcy court’s resolution of two particular adversarial proceedings
