What if you pay good money for a mineral interest and record the deed in the official public records, thereby securing your title? What if your predecessors-in-title decide among themselves they made a material mistake in a...more
Yesterday we discussed aspects of PPC Acquisition Co., LLC, et al. v. Delaware Basin Res., LLC, et al. Today we consider whether the retained-acreage clauses created a special limitation or a covenant and the relationship...more
Jatex Oil & Gas, L.P. v. Nadel & Gussman Permian, L.L.C. presents several teachable moments:
The Texas Property Owner Rule does not allow a non-expert testify on matters requiring expert testimony....more
9/25/2020
/ Contract Disputes ,
Contract Terms ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Fair Market Value ,
Joint Operating Agreement ,
Mineral Extraction ,
Mineral Rights ,
Oil & Gas ,
Property Owners ,
Revenue ,
Tortious Interference
San Miguel Electric Coop is a Texas nonprofit electric cooperative that owns and operates a power plant that supplies electricity to 38 Texas counties. After a four-week absence, they return to these pages, this time in DCP...more
Let’s set aside fracking challenges, low prices, and pipeline rejections to discuss the mundane. Should you as an owner of property be concerned about premises liability claims? We’re talking about the office environment and...more
In Chalker Energy Partners III LLC v. LeNorman Operating LLC, the Texas Supreme Court reaffirmed its belief in the sanctity of the written contract and the freedom of parties to negotiate and agree to contracts as they...more
3/10/2020
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Business Disputes ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Contract Disputes ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Contract Terms ,
Counterclaims ,
Energy Projects ,
Oil & Gas ,
Property Owners ,
Reversal ,
TX Supreme Court
The concurrence and dissent in Briggs et al v. Southwestern Energy Production Company appears to be of little help to property owners complaining of trespass by fracking where there is no invasion of frack fluids on to the...more
1/30/2020
/ Adjacent Property Owners ,
Discovery ,
Fracking ,
Natural Resources ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pleading Standards ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Market ,
Rule of Capture ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trespass ,
Well Drilling
Herein, highlights from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Briggs, et al. v. Southwestern Energy Production Company. The rule of capture applies to oil and gas produced from wells completed using hydraulic fracturing and...more
1/28/2020
/ Adjacent Property Owners ,
Fracking ,
Natural Resources ,
Oil & Gas ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Popular ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Market ,
Rule of Capture ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trespass ,
Well Drilling
The 2019 Texas legislature enacted a new Property Code Section 5.152 to protect mineral and royalty owners from a certain species of fraudulent transactions perpetrated on trusting and/or naïve and/or out of state mineral...more
11/5/2019
/ Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Fraud ,
Fraudulent Conveyance ,
Future Royalties ,
Gas Royalties ,
Land Titles ,
Mineral Leases ,
Mineral Rights ,
Oil & Gas ,
Property Owners ,
Scams ,
Transfer of Interest
In Mary et al. QEP Energy Company the question was, given an encroachment of a pipeline onto the property of another, what is the test for determining the good faith, or not, of the party in possession?...more
According to Enterprise Te Products Pipeline Company v. Avila, it is the value of the expropriated property, even if it is as little as 33 cents each to the landowners. This seemingly small case must have had big potential...more
North Shore Energy v. Harkins interpreted an Option Agreement between landowners and a producer over a 400 acre tract. In football they would say the Texas Supreme Court pancaked the plaintiff. In the law, some would call it...more
11/17/2016
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Energy Sector ,
Mineral Leases ,
Oil & Gas ,
Property Owners ,
Tortious Interference ,
TX Supreme Court
This narrative about a daughter gone bad is for title examiners, landmen and moralists. Business development persons, skip straight to the lesson.
The background Elvira owned a home and lived with Johnny. Elvira and...more
I know contract writers who like to state terms, such as property descriptions, several different ways. If you just have to over-describe, at least be careful, and at least be sure the descriptions are consistent....more
Private property rights advocates scored a big victory in a Texas condemnation case in the ongoing battle between pipelines and landowners over the power of eminent domain. (See our last post for a decision with the opposite...more