News & Analysis as of

Property Owners Mineral Rights Mineral Leases

Jackson Walker

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

Jackson Walker on

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

McGinnis Lochridge

Affirmative Defenses Are Insufficient to Rebut the Van Dyke Presumption

McGinnis Lochridge on

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

McGinnis Lochridge on

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

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Ohio Appeals Court Rules that Horizontal Shale Well Was “On” the Leased Premises

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you own a 175 acre farm in Washington County. Your grandfather acquired the farm back in 1948 from Farmer Brown (the “1948 Deed”). Your grandfather always said that he bought both the surface and oil and gas. In...more

Gray Reed

Ratifications, Stipulations, and Fixed vs. Floating Royalty Interests

Gray Reed on

After four stops at the lower courts, Kenneth Hahn v. ConocoPhillips has been resolved by the Supreme Court of Texas. The Court opined on the effect of two instruments often used to clarify land titles in Texas: ...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Pennsylvania Superior Court Reaffirms the Dunham Rule

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you inherited a 150 acre farm in Lycoming County that has been owned by your family since 1909. In 2020, you are approached by ABC Drilling about a new oil and gas lease for the farm. You retain counsel and...more

Oliva Gibbs

“After Acquired Title” to Remain a Caged-Bird after Dellit v. Schleder, 2022 MT 196, 518 P.3d 830

Oliva Gibbs on

Introduction - “No one has a vested interest in any rule of common law.” Meech v. Hillhaven W., 776 P.2d 488, 494 (Mont. 1989). Luckily the Montana legislature has codified the common law rule of after-acquired title as a...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Landowners Should Ensure that Solar Farm Payments Retain Their Value Over Time

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Leases for solar energy facilities offer property owners the potential for a predictable, long-term revenue stream. But, because of the potential decades-long duration of a lease for solar energy facilities, things like...more

Gray Reed

Defense of a Deed Signed by a 12-Year-Old Fails

Gray Reed on

Foreshadowing a grim future for family weddings and funerals, Bell and Petsch v. Petch is a property dispute over five tracts of land in Gillespie County, Texas, in which siblings are the combatants. The events are less...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Long-Term Impact of Solar Panels on Property

Amundsen Davis LLC on

Solar panels are increasing in popularity for both residential and commercial properties. Some property owners may consider installing solar panels to meet their own energy needs; others may consider installing them to...more

Gray Reed

Were the Mineral Deeds a Gift or a Sale? It Made a Difference.

Gray Reed on

The question presented in Aaron v. Fisher et al: Did mineral deeds bestow separate property upon the grantees by gift, or did they convey a community property interest to the grantees and their spouses by sale for...more

Gray Reed

Texas Court Accepts Only One Meaning of “Leased Premises” in an Oil and Gas Lease

Gray Reed on

How many different meanings can parties attribute to a term in an oil and gas lease?  Answer: As many as they want, but the court will only use one, says King Operating et al v. Double Eagle Andrews, LLC et al....more

Gray Reed

Texas Court Rules on a Retained Acreage Clause

Gray Reed on

Sometimes writing too many alternatives into an oil and gas lease invites confusion … which provokes litigation … which results in disappointment for somebody … or everybody. ...more

Gray Reed

Oil and Gas Lease Addendum Supersedes Printed Form

Gray Reed on

In Apache Corp. v. Hill, et al.,  lessors prevailed in a lease construction dispute because of the court’s unsurprising conclusion that a typewritten addendum to oil and gas leases superseded conflicting provisions in the...more

Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court Rules on Correction Deeds in a Case of First Impression

Gray Reed on

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

Gray Reed

Texas Court Parses Three Retained-Acreage Clauses – Part 2

Gray Reed on

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

Gray Reed

Fake Mineral Leases Thwarted by the Texas Legislature

Gray Reed on

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

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