Bringing Family Law Expertise to SCOTX | Justice Debra Lehrmann | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Potential Changes to SCOTX Petition Practice | Justice Evan Young | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
An Unexpected Path to the Appellate Bench | Justice Rebeca Huddle | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Texas Supreme Court Draws Line on Attorney Immunity Privilege
Handling the Texas Supreme Court’s Public Information | Osler McCarthy | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Paths to Texas Judicial Selection Reform | Chief Justice Tom Phillips | Texas Appellate Law Podcast
Texas is the latest in a growing number of states to tackle the issues related to ownership and severability of the pore space underneath land as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) remains a relevant tool in CO2...more
If you drive around Pennsylvania, you are likely not going to encounter a “For Sale” sign offering a cavern in the ground. But the voids, pore spaces, and cavities in the subsurface can be quite valuable now and in the...more
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
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
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
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
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
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
The Texas Supreme Court (“TXSC”) recently confirmed what many already know: the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) has only administrative authority related to water rights in Texas. This means that water...more
The Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code, Chapter 95, limits a property owner’s liability when an independent contractor hired to construct, repair, renovate or modify an improvement to the owner’s property brings a...more
As of September 1, 2021, in a change to Texas caselaw that had been in place for over a century, Texas contractors now have protection in certain circumstances from liability for defective plans and specifications provided to...more
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
A property owner is generally liable for hazards on the property that injure others. On construction projects, this presents a significant risk for owners because there are always multiple hazards present, and the owner,...more
The Texas Supreme Court’s recent decision in Los Compadres Pescadores, L.L.C. v. Valdez provides new guidance regarding a commercial property owner’s protections against liability for injuries occurring on construction sites....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
The Rule of Capture has been a foundational concept of oil and gas prospecting for 150 years. The Rule of Capture exists to provide an affirmative defense to drillers when they tap into oil and gas pockets that cross property...more
Last month, a gunman entered an El Paso Walmart, shot and killed 22 people and injured more than two dozen others. A local El Paso attorney filed suit against Walmart claiming that store had insufficient security. Besides the...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
On May 27, 2016, in Town of Lakewood Village v. Bizios, the Texas Supreme Court held that general law municipalities do not have the authority to enforce building codes within their extraterritorial jurisdictions (ETJs). This...more
The Texas Supreme Court handed property owners a major victory on an issue of increasing importance as West Nile Virus and Zika Virus spread around the country. The court held that the doctrine of ferae naturae limits a...more
U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Whether Jurisdictional Determinations May be Appealed - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determines the presence or absence of wetlands and other “waters of the United States” on a...more
The Supreme Court of Texas upheld a jury verdict finding that a landowner did not suffer trespass from a wastewater injection well located on adjacent property. Environmental Processing Systems, L.C., v. FPL Farming Ltd.,...more