The so called “Anadarko Washout” involves a washout of oil and gas leases on undivided working interests owned by non-operating mineral cotenants. This particular species of lease washouts is based on two recent cases from the…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities
In this case (Scout Energy Mgmt., LLC v. Taylor Properties, No. 23-1014, 2024 WL 5249490 [Tex. Dec. 31, 2024]), the Texas Supreme Court held that vague notations on shut-in royalty check receipts cannot modify an unambiguous…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Real Estate - Commercial
A landowner’s failure to provide consent for surface use related to oil and gas operations does not necessarily preclude the lessee from conducting activities if the lease agreements allow surface use…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Real Estate - Commercial
In this lease termination case (Pruett v. River Land Holdings, LLC, No. 03-22-00478-CV, 2024 WL 1745652, at *1 [Tex. App.—Austin Apr. 24, 2024, no pet.]), the Austin Court of Appeals was tasked with examining a cessation of…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Real Estate - Commercial
In Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Underground Services Markham, LLC, No. 22-0878, 2025 WL 4356581 (Tex. May 16, 2025), the Texas Supreme Court resolved two significant issues affecting mineral owners and surface owners: (1) who owns the…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Real Estate - Commercial
This recent case (Rock River Minerals, LP v. Pioneer Nat. Res. USA Inc., No. 08-23-00216-CV, 2024 WL 4528917 [Tex. App.—El Paso Oct. 18, 2024, no pet. h.]) explored whether an assignment of an overriding royalty interest, which…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Real Estate - Commercial
Under Van Dyke, deeds with double-fraction royalty reservations referencing “1/8” are presumed to reserve a floating royalty interest unless clearly contradicted. Defenses like waiver, ratification, and limitations cannot…
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/ Civil Procedure, Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Real Estate - Commercial
A lessee who halts production for less than 40 days and resumes without drilling or reworking does not terminate the lease. The continuous development clause keeps the lease active, and the cessation clause allows resumed…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities
In this recent case, the Texas Supreme Court resolved whether ratification of a lease or signing of a stipulation agreement could transform a fixed non-participating royalty interest (NPRI) into a floating NPRI…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Real Estate - Commercial
Generally speaking, insurance producers face fairly routine obligations when procuring cover. Every state imposes a general duty to exercise that degree of care, skill and diligence a reasonable producer would exhibit to his…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Consumer Protection, Insurance, Professional Malpractice
In a watershed ruling, the El Paso Court of Appeals extends "waste" liability under the Nat. Res. Code to commercial disposal well operator—potentially increasing exposure for this critical wastewater industry—while preserving…
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/ Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use, Business Torts
This lease royalty case involved a dispute over whether the lessee was permitted to deduct volumes of gas used off the premises to power post-production activities on other gas produced from the same well. Carl v. Hilcorp Energy…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Real Estate - Commercial
Unitex WI, LLC v. CT Land & Cattle Co., LLC, No. 07-23-00390-CV, 2024 WL 3249338 (Tex. App.—Amarillo June 28, 2024, pet. filed)..…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Real Estate - Commercial
Winter Storm Uri sent shockwaves through Texas, freezing gas supplies at a time of critical need and plunging the state into widespread power outages. In the aftermath, the courts have been flooded with force majeure claims,…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities
