In the latest episode of our energy law podcast, learn when an "offset well" is not an offset well, according to the Texas Supreme Court. Also, get up to speed on the latest installment in the ongoing "fixed"-versus-"floating […]
The Texas Supreme Court and our Courts of Appeals have now been struggling for years with the elusive distinction between "fixed" and "floating" royalties. In application, the difference between the two can have drastic and& […]
Offset Wells and Liquidated Damages as Unenforceable Penalties. Oil-and-gas leases—at least those drafted by savvy mineral owners—will often include an offset drilling clause. Such clauses stipulate that, if a well is drilled on a neighboring […]
It is one of those arcane principles discussed at length in textbooks that manifests itself in the real world far less frequently: the rule against perpetuities, the notion "that no interest within its scope is good unless it must vest […]
At the end of the year, I like to take stock—in summary form—of the leading decisions impacting the energy industry. Historically, this has been for my own personal reference, or something I share inside our firm with my partners. Since this crib […]
On December 14, 2017, the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals decided Haywood WI Units, Ltd. v. B&S Dunagan Investments, Ltd., et al., a long-running dispute over the ownership of minerals in Liberty County. The decision addresses mineral deed […]
This week, KRCL's energy law podcast addresses the fiduciary obligations of the executive rights holder to non-executive mineral interest owners, as well as an important appellate decision about acreage retention clauses keyed off of proration […]
We began 2Q17 with a discussion of the intersection of the oil patch with class actions and the Fair Labor Standards Act; the federal government’s liability for the environmental cleanup of refinery waste; and a shortsighted discovery ruling that could […]
Our energy law podcast is back from a brief hiatus for the Independence Day holiday with a quick look at the legal developments in oil-and-gas law that July has brought us so far.
Increasingly, class actions are—for all intents and purposes—won or lost at the certification stage. After all, if a class is certified, especially under the heightened standards for class treatment that have been articulated by the United States […]
Late last week, the Texas Supreme Court told a cautionary tale for operators with its unanimous opinion in Samson Exploration LLC v. T.S. Reed Properties Inc., which addressed the circumstance in which a well is situated within not just one pooled unit […]
In this week's edition of our energy law podcast, you'll learn about multiple decisions that came out of the Texas Supreme Court on Friday, which can directly impact your operations in the oil patch, as well as one of the first jury verdicts […]