If you examine titles or read title opinions, this post is for you.
I was recently examining instruments for an East Texas title opinion when I came across an instrument that, at first glance, appeared to be an easement. Scanning the document, I saw the phrases “right of way” and “road”—leading
With apologies for being absent for a week, I ask you to ponder this question when you embark on a fight with the officers and directors of the energy company you own a part of: How does your subjective fear of harm factor into your right to injunctive relief? Not much, according to a Texas
Technology and innovation will resolve the issues, real and imagined, that confront hydraulic fracturing. I arrive at that opinion because of history:
Before 1914, France had three dozen airplanes, more than all other air forces in the world put together. Germany, Britain, Italy, Russia, Japan and Austria all had no more than four planes each
As promised in our last post, here is a state-by-state review of the Duhig Rule – who has adpoted it, who hasn’t, and who might.
Texas – Duhig v. Peavey Moore Lumber Company, 135 Tex. 503, 144 S.W.2d 878 (1940) was a Texas case. As a result, producing states have
Johnson v. Finkle, from North Dakota, centers around the long-standing but oft-forgotten headache that is the Duhig doctrine. If you aren’t familiar, you should be. Here it is:
The Rule
“Where a grantor conveys land in such a manner as to include 100% of the minerals, and then reserves to
In Robinson Township v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dealt a major blow to the energy industry. By a 4-2 decision the Court struck down a 2012 law (commonly known as “Act 13”) aimed at preventing municipal interference with oil and gas exploration.
Three different approaches
Interestingly, the
We begin with a philosophical question: Should a person be rewarded for bad behavior? Despite twerkee Miley Cyrus (and her daddy), the Kardashians and, at least for a while Richard Nixon, the answer should be, no. Texas law agrees.
The express negligence doctrine in indemnification agreements “… mandates that the party use express language within
It was a triumph of hysteria over common sense, a thrashing of science at the hand of ignorance, capitulation to a small but loud minority of NIMBY protestors. The City of Dallas has passed one of the strictest drilling ordinances in the country.
The ordinance amounts to a defacto ban on future drilling because of
In Louisiana, in order to have a valid oral transfer of immovable property under Civil Code Art. 1839, two requirements must be met:
In Harter v. Harter, mineral interests (which are
Scoundrels often get away with their crimes by scamming lots of victims for small amounts, so that no single investor can afford to prosecute his claim. Big Rock Investors Association v. Big Rock Petroleum, Inc. was an unsuccessful effort by investors to clear this hurdle.
Big Rock Investors Association (BRIA) was created