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
You won’t get what you don’t ask for. That’s a given. But so is, You can’t always get what you want. That’s the end of most lawsuits for one side or the other.
Take Wade Oil & Gas, Inc. v. Telesis Operating Company, Inc., et al, for example. Wade, an
Co-author Alexandra A. CrawleyIn Walton v. City of Midland, the surface owner of a 35 acre tract within the city limits of Midland, Texas, contended that a provision in a city permit for an oil or gas well was a regulatory taking because it required the lessee to drill a water well on
O
h, how a simple Favored-Nations clause in an oil and gas lease can get complicated, with large financial consequences! In BP America Production Company v. Zaffirini, BP paid Solis a $1,300 per acre bonus for a lease covering 30% of the mineral estate and agreed that if paid a more favorable
Co-author Andrew Neal
Non-operators have had a lot in common with Br’er Rabbit ever since 2006, when the Texas Supreme Court surprised the industry in Seagull Energy E & P, Inc. v. Eland Energy, Inc. Their tar baby is the ruling that, absent a release from the operator a working interest under a JOA who