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Property Owners Contract Disputes

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Colored Horses, Toxic Brews and Lithium Too?

Does the Texas Supreme Court’s Decision in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating Provide Guidance About Lithium and Rare Earth Minerals Ownership in Pennsylvania? Lithium demand is expected to continue to increase as...more

McGinnis Lochridge

When $180 Million Rides on an Expert's Supplementation Decision

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$180M oil case lost when Apollo refused to fix expert's flawed damages model. Without expert testimony meant no damages recovery in technical fields. In Apollo Exploration, LLC v. Apache Corporation, No. 11-19-00183-CV, 2025...more

Jackson Walker

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Default Ownership of Produced Water in Oil & Gas Leases – Key Questions Remain

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On June 27, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court issued a pivotal decision in Cactus Water Services, LLC v. COG Operating, LLC, holding that under the language of the granting clause found in the standard oil and gas lease, produced...more

Gray Reed

Ambiguity Frees Louisiana Royalty Owner From Post-Production Costs

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In Franklin v. Regions Bank the Fifth Circuit concluded that a royalty clause in a mineral lease resulted in a gross proceeds royalty; the royalty owners did not bear their proportionate share of post-production costs. Read...more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

What Agricultural Landowners Need to Know Now About Leases to Minimize Future Risk

According to the USDA – Economic Research Service, there are approximately 911 million acres of farmland in the lower 48 states, with roughly 60% of this farmland owner-operated and 40% of it leased. For tillable cropland...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Ownership of Salt Caverns

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On May 16, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court issued a decision ruling that, absent specific contractual language, surface owners retain ownership of the caverns created by salt mining operations. The issue of ownership of salt...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Oregon Supreme Court Expands Meaning of "Accident" in Insurance Policy

Owners can trigger an insurance policy without formally alleging a tort claim if the contractor's defective work could support a tort claim. The Oregon decision may allow property owners to assert only a breach of...more

Lowndes

Just Argued: Florida Supreme Court Tackles Property Law Shake-Up That Could Hit Property Owners and Developers Alike

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This morning, the Florida Supreme Court heard RJ’s International v. Crown Castle, a high-stakes case poised to reshape how contractual terms in property agreements affect future landowners. The justices are weighing whether...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

Bracewell LLP

Surface vs. Mineral Owners: Texas Supreme Court Settles Salt Cavern Ownership Dispute

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The Texas Supreme Court has settled the issue of who owns the voids, known as salt caverns, created in subsurface salt formations (whether naturally occurring or caused as a result of salt mining operations). In...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

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

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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

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

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

Stark & Stark

Understanding the Right of First Refusal Clause in Real Estate Transactions

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What is a right of first refusal clause in a real estate transaction? A right of first refusal, “ROFR,” may be considered a common clause seen in real estate agreements. But the effects of an ROFR can be quite harmful if...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Affirmative Defenses Are Insufficient to Rebut the Van Dyke Presumption

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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...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Texas Supreme Court Rules on Modification of NPRIs

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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....more

Sullivan & Worcester

Massachusetts SJC Rules That Statute of Repose Does Not Bar Contractual Indemnification Claim Against Architect

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On April 16, 2025, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the “SJC”) issued a decision concluding that a claim based on a negotiated contract providing for indemnification of damages caused by an architect’s negligence...more

Oliva Gibbs

Reservation or Limitation on Warranty? Navigating the Fine Line — Lessons from Valence Operating Co. v. Davidson

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In Valence Operating Co. v. Davidson1, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana addressed whether the provision, “all Oil, Gas and other Minerals have been excepted and reserved by former...more

MG+M The Law Firm

Florida Appeals Court Clarifies Timing for Damages in a Breach of a Construction Contract

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In the case of Bandklayder Dev., LLC v. Sabga, No. 3D23-1906, 2025 WL 15275 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. Jan. 2, 2025), a Florida Appeals Court followed established Florida precedent holding that damages for a breach of construction...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Tackling Free-Use and At-The-Well Royalties

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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...more

Segal McCambridge

Third DCA Reaffirms the Longstanding Playbook on Contract Damages

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Must damages be based on the cost of repair at the time of the breach? What is the time of breach? A recent Florida appellate case might have the answer to these questions. Bandklayder Development, LLC v. Sabga introduces key...more

Moritt Hock & Hamroff LLP

MHH Condo/Co-op Digest, (April 2025)

This newsletter explores the emerging legal topics and issues affecting the condominium and cooperative services industry. Thought-leading attorneys from Moritt Hock & Hamroff’s Condominium and Cooperative Services Practice...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Who Can Enforce Surface Provisions in an OGL?

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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)...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Federal Court Emphasizes Strict Adherence to Mechanic's Lien Statute

A federal judge in New York served up a good reminder last week about the importance of dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s when it comes to perfecting a mechanic’s lien.  The case involves a payment dispute between a...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Is It Defamatory to Call Your Contractor a Crook and a Con Man?

Not according to a decision from a federal court in Ohio. The case involves a landscaping project at a hillside home in Cincinnati. The property overlooks the Ohio River, but like many projects that become cases, it ended up...more

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