(plaintiff alleged that he purchased working interests in several mining partnerships from the original owner of the leaseholds; for about 40 years, he received a proportionate share of the proceeds of the operations; the payments stopped when defendant purchased the majority interest in the partnerships; the wells then began to operate at a net annual loss, and defendant would bill plaintiff for his share of deficiencies, which he refused to pay; plaintiff filed this action against defendant seeking an accounting and compensatory and punitive damages; defendant sought summary judgment on the ground that plaintiff could produce no written instrument conveying him ownership of the working interests; plaintiff responded that he possessed "an ownership interest in a partnership," not a real property interest and that such an interest could be proven by parol evidence and course of conduct; the district court entered judgment in favor of defendant, but on appeal the Fourth Circuit certified the following question to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals: "Can the proponent of a working interest in a mineral lease prove his entitlement thereto without resort to proof that the lease interest has been conveyed to him in strict conformance with the Statute of Frauds").