In Texas, more than your dog. Gilbert Wheeler, Inc. v. Enbridge Pipelines (East Texas), L.P. is good news for landowners. The Texas Supreme recognized the intrinsic-value-of-trees exception to the general rule for damages to real property, so that landowners are compensated for the loss of the ornamental (esthetic) and utilitarian (shade) value that trees
What Does “Sprawling Litigation” Look Like?
It looks like what you’d expect: a bunch of litigants spending lots of time at a courthouse in Goliad, Texas, with no end in sight. After much “sprawl” in Harkins v. Northshore Energy it came down to the meaning of this property description (call it Tract 2): “Being 1,210 acres of land, more or less,
North Dakota Good Faith Purchasers: At What Point is Notice Relevant?
Co-author Katie R. English.
The Question
In order to be a good faith purchaser, a party must not have actual or constructive notice of another’s rights. Northern Oil and Gas v. Creighton asked, When should the determination of whether a party has notice be made, A: At the time the second lease is recorded,
Subcontractors Score a Victory in Federal Court
By: Martin P. Averill
On August 27, in In re Heritage Consolidated, L.L.C., the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted subcontractor’s lien rights to two oil and gas drilling contractors. The Court reversed a district court ruling which
Freedom to Contract Prevails in New Mexico
Co-author Alexandra Crawley
Is freedom to contract a good thing for everybody? First Baptist Church of Roswell v. Yates Petroleum Corp. says yes, and confirms that the public policy in New Mexico is freedom to contract. In this case, it was to avoid the Proceeds Payment Act requirement for payment of interest on well
In Wyoming, a Higher Burden for Chemical Disclosure Exemption?
Co-author Sandra Mazan
In Powder River Basin Resource Council v. Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the Wyoming Supreme Court held that the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has the burden of justifying the use of trade secrets exemption from revealing the contents of hydraulic fracturing chemicals. The court also required the WOGCC,
CO2 is Good
… in the right places.
Co-author Mark Bohon
In French vs. Occidental Permian, Ltd. the Texas Supreme Court held that costs associated with injection of carbon dioxide into a reservoir in a tertiary recovery operation were properly deducted from royalties.
This case reflects court’s awareness of improvements in oil recovery created by new technology, in
Treachery of the Untrustworthy Trustee
Co-author Brooke Sizer
J-W Operating Co. v. Olsen is another Louisiana concursus (“It’s not my money, Your Honor; let them fight over it”).
The Trust
In 2006, Fred Houston created the Fred L. Houston Trust and placed into it the Tenneco lease, which had been producing since 1974. Ms. Williams was the trustee. The trust
Rumsfeld, Morrison and the Discovery Rule in Texas
As Donald Rumsfeld teaches, knowledge can be divided into three categories:
- Known knowns; things that we know that we know;
- known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know; and
- unknown unknowns; the ones we don’t know we don’t know.
Another philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, adds a fourth, for
This is Why You Need a Will
Co-author Brooke Sizer
Let’s talk title disputes, especially ones between those with record title and those claiming title by possession:
- They are complicated (There were 229 defendants in today’s case)
- They happen when there is a lot of money to fight over ($2.7 MM in today’s case)