News & Analysis as of

Contract Interpretation Contract Disputes

Gray Reed

Two Words = Six Million Dollars: SCOTX Reverses Trial Court That Added Words to a Gas Transportation Agreement

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In American Midstream (Alabama Intrastate), LLC v. Rainbow Energy Marketing Corporation, the Texas Supreme Court held that the trial court improperly inserted the words “scheduled” and “physical” into a contract. By...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Fifth Circuit Finds ANR Pipeline’s Tariff Does Not Require Simultaneous Delivery for Short-Notice Shipments

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On May 22, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) addressed a dispute between ANR Pipeline Company (“ANR”) and FERC. The case centered on the interpretation of ANR’s tariff and whether it...more

McDermott Will & Emery

Riding on Empty: ‘Stang’ With No Anthropomorphic Characteristics Isn’t Copyrightable Character

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court’s denial of copyright protection for a car that had a name but no anthropomorphic or protectable characteristics. Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc. v....more

DarrowEverett LLP

The Business Value of Engaging a Litigator Before You Are In Court

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The point when what began as a negotiation, or even a conversation, ripens into a full-blown lawsuit is rarely clear. Yet it is certainly clear that the courtroom is not where any of the parties to a once-promising business...more

Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court Decides Who Must Produce to Maintain an Oil and Gas Lease

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In Cromwell v. Anadarko E & P Onshore LLC the Supreme Court of Texas did what it so often does: In order to provide “legal certainty and predictability”, the Court considered the plain language of a contract in order to...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Supreme Court of Texas Washes Out the “Anadarko Washout”

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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...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Whose Terms Govern? An Introduction to the Battle of the Forms

For construction lawyers, the Battle of the Forms presents a familiar fact pattern. A material supplier/seller provides a potential buyer with a price quote along with its standard terms. The buyer, usually a contractor or...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Sixth Circuit Rules That Driller Must Establish Marketability of Each Gas Product Under Market Enhancement Clause

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you own 105 acres in Greene County, Pennsylvania. In 2020, you signed an oil and gas lease with ABC Exploration. During the negotiations, you agreed that only those post-production costs which actually...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Limits of Shut-In Payment Notations in Lease Disputes

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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...more

Perkins Coie

California Supreme Court Upholds Reduced Rent Remedies in Cotenancy Clauses

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Key Takeaways - - In JJD-HOV Elk Grove, LLC v. Jo-Ann Stores, LLC, the Supreme Court of California upheld the validity of a cotenancy provision in a retail lease, affirming that in certain instances where clauses are drafted...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Can a Production Sharing Agreement Override Surface Owner Consent? Hamilton v. ConocoPhillips Explored

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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....more

Gray Reed

Operator Excused from Texas Relinquishment Act Claims

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In Williams O & G Resources, LLC v. Diamondback Energy, Inc., a federal magistrate judge concluded that the Texas Relinquishment Act does not apply to public-school lands patented after 1931. The report and recommendation was...more

A&O Shearman

Tales of the unexpected

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A colleague told me about a conference at UCL on contract law and the unexpected saying, “Looks like a nice day out Jason”. When I was emailed 12 hefty draft papers by way of pre-reading, I realised it was a rather...more

Akerman LLP

Tariff Troubles: Analyzing Construction Contracts in the Current Market

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2025 brought with it many new tariffs, and those tariffs seem to be changing on a near-daily basis. Given this, many in the real estate industry are understandably apprehensive about beginning new projects. Many more are...more

Gray Reed

Texas Pore Space Ownership – Royalty Calculation

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In Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Underground Services Markham, LLC et al, (discussed previously) the parties disagreed on how to calculate Myers’ royalty on salt produced by Underground....more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Nouvelle clause contractuelle : Efforts raisonnables et diligents sur le plan commercial à la date la plus rapprochée possible

Dans l’affaire récente Epix Developments Ltd. v. Bonnis Development Union Street Limited Partnership (l’« affaire Epix ») (en anglais), un tribunal en Colombie-Britannique s’est penché sur l’interprétation d’une nouvelle...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Does “Indemnify” = “Hold Harmless”?

Does this sound familiar? Nearly every construction contract contains an indemnification provision with some variation of these terms. And if you have ever negotiated a construction contract, you know that indemnification...more

Mayer Brown

Legal Developments in Construction Law: May 2025

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1. ABSENCE OF NOVATION SINKS ADJUDICATION AWARD AGAINST ASSIGNEE - A contractor obtained an adjudication award against an assignee of its employer, which had gone into administration.  But was that assignee the correct...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Who Owns the Empty Space? Texas Supreme Court Affirms Surface Ownership of Salt Caverns in Landmark Ruling

McGinnis Lochridge on

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...more

Warner Norcross + Judd

Michigan Court of Appeals Splits with Federal Courts and Holds Standard Stellantis Contract Terms Enforceable

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Earlier this week, the Michigan Court of Appeals issued its opinion in FCA US, LLC v. Kamax Inc., et al., the latest in a string of court decisions interpreting the enforceability of supply chain contracts in the wake of the...more

Baker Botts L.L.P.

Write it Down or Forever Hold Your Peace: Texas Supreme Court Rejects Fraud Claims Based on Oral Representations in Mineral Deals

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On Friday, May 9th, the Supreme Court of Texas addressed important issues regarding the enforcement of written contractual representations in its per curiam opinion styled Roxo Energy Co., LLC et al. v. Baxsto, LLC, ---...more

McGinnis Lochridge

All Depths or Just One Formation? Court Clarifies Royalty Conveyance in Rock River v. Pioneer

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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,...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

From Court to Contract: Navigating Recent Supreme Court and Appellate Decisions

Recent Canadian case law is reshaping how legal drafters should approach contractual clauses. Key decisions, including rulings from the Supreme Court of Canada and appellate courts in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and...more

Robinson+Cole Construction Law Zone

The Importance of Indemnification Clauses in Managing Post-Completion Project Risk

Claims against design professionals often pose unique challenges when such claims are dually rooted in both tort and contract theories, and therefore subject to competing time limitations. In order to reconcile these...more

Gray Reed

Uri Force Majeure Cases Still Percolating

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Thought you’d heard the last of force majuere cases arising from Winter Storm Uri? Think again. In Marathon Oil Company v. Koch Services LLC. the question was how to measure damages suffered by Koch for Marathon’s...more

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