FORIEGN: Billionaire’s Ex-Wife Rejects $975 Million Divorce Settlement Check

The ex-wife of oil billionaire Harold Hamm has rejected his check for roughly $975 million, a payment meant to satisfy a judge’s recent divorce decree.

An Oklahoma judge ordered Mr. Hamm, the chief executive of Continental Resources Inc., to pay his former wife, Sue Ann Arnall, nearly $1 billion to settle the couple’s contentious 2 ½ year divorce. But on Monday, she rejected the check, lawyers for Mr. Hamm and Ms. Arnall confirmed Tuesday.

Ms. Arnall, who was also awarded two homes, a ranch and other assets worth another several million dollars, is appealing the judge’s divorce ruling, saying it shortchanges her 26-year marriage to the wildcatter. She is seeking a divorce settlement of several billion dollars.

“Ms. Arnall, through her counsel, stated that they were rejecting the $974,790,317.77,” said Michael
Burrage, one of Mr. Hamm’s attorneys.

Ron Barber, an attorney for Ms. Arnall, said she cannot accept any payments from Mr. Hamm without jeopardizing her appeal.

“Mr. Hamm’s counsel is fully aware of our position in this regard, and of the law regarding the acceptance of benefits pending appeal,” he said.

Mr. Hamm initially called the judge’s ruling for nearly $1 billion “fair and equitable.” But after Ms. Arnall appealed the judge’s decree in December Mr. Hamm also appealed the decision, calling it “erroneous.” In a filing, his lawyers said payment of the judge’s decree didn't compromise his right to appeal.

Continental, based in Oklahoma City, helped pioneer oil production in North Dakota and is an active driller in U.S. shale formations. Through court filings, Ms. Arnall has asserted that her ex-husband’s leadership and energy expertise were critical to Continental’s success and skyrocketing stock price in recent years. But Mr. Hamm has said repeatedly that Continental’s fortunes rise and fall with oil prices, and in recent months the company’s shares have cratered alongside crude-oil prices.

In a separate filing, Ms. Arnall said Continental’s shares might not have fallen so far if Mr. Hamm had not decided to dispose of nearly all the company’s oil hedges that guaranteed it could sell millions of barrels of crude for about $100 each.

“One of the reasons why investors are so nervous about Continental at this time is due to the actions of the Respondent himself,” the filing said.