The plaintiffs, a married couple, claimed that the defendant, an oil and gas company, failed to pay a lease bonus payment of $144,000 that the parties had agreed to. The defendant delivered a "letter agreement" to the plaintiffs stating that the parties would execute and additional "Option to Exercise Oil and Gas Lease" and that the defendant would pay $100.00 per mineral acre and a 1/8th mineral owner's royalty with a primary term of four years. The plaintiffs did not execute the letter agreement or the additional option agreement. A final contract with different terms was ultimately entered into that stated that it became effective when the oil and gas lease described in it was approved and on approval of title. Ultimately, the plaintiffs claimed that the defendant breached the lease and the letter agreement when it did not pay the bonus payment of $100/acre. The plaintiffs also claimed that they incurred over $15,000 of expenses in clearing title defects and confirming marketable title and that by obtaining the recording the lease the defendant blocked the plaintiffs from entering into agreements with other potential oil and gas companies. The defendant motioned to dismiss on the basis that no contract was formed between the parties. The court agreed with the defendant on the basis that there was never any offer that the plaintiffs accepted and that there was no meeting of the minds on all points that left nothing for negotiation. The court noted that there was no evidence that the plaintiffs accepted the letter agreement and the facts did not support an inference of acceptance. Instead, the negotiations over several months resulted in a lease with a different party (the plaintiffs' farming operation) with different terms. The plaintiffs never executed the agreement and the facts did not support the argument that the letter agreement had been incorporated into the parties' final contract. there simply was no mutual manifestation of assent as to key contract terms. The option agreement also never materialized. Norberg, et al. v. Cottonwood Natural Resources, LTD, No. 8:15CV71, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122057 (D. Neb. Sept. 14, 2015).