A question, not hypothetical: Can one provision in a comprehensive water purchase agreement lock a mineral lessee into a single alternative for every purpose under the sun? In Davenport v. EOG Resources, Inc., a court of appeals said “no”, affirming a $14.9 million jury verdict and judgment against Webb County, Texas
It’s often helpful when courts are asked to construe joint operating agreements. Not always, though. Courts sometimes don’t understand or fail to take into account industry custom and practice and the underlying purposes behind the JOA, especially the Model Form. Evans Resources LP v. Petroplex Energy Inc. appears, at first blush, not to be
Co-Author: Gunner West
In Equinor Energy LP v. Lindale Pipeline, LLC the Supreme Court reversed a jury award of $26 million that had been affirmed by a court of appeals, based on the meaning of one humble preposition. A supplier’s exclusive right to deliver fracking water “on the Pipeline” failed because water from another supplier
Our Cornucopia post was a reminder that “subject to” is a phrase that punches well above its weight. In Brown et al v. Endeavor Energy Resources, L.P., those same two words undid a $2.3 million summary judgment and returned the case to the trial court for a do-over.
Randy
Robert May et al v. Ineos USA Oil & Gas, LLC et al, could, if you are so inclined, serve as a tutorial on terms used in oil and gas transactions or, if you are further along than that, it could be your guide for negotiating and drafting farmouts.
The agreements between the plaintiffs/farmors
Yes … sometimes. In ConocoPhillips Company v. Totem Well Service, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas applied New Mexico law to an oilfield indemnity dispute, voiding the Master Service Agreement’s indemnification clause calling for Texas law to govern.
The facts
ConocoPhillips, headquartered in Texas, hired Totem, based
Slant Operating, LLC and Slant Holdings, LLC v. Octane Energy Operating, LLC, reveals the benefits and purposes of the Texas Business Court in resolving complex energy disputes (such as convincing businesses to abandon Delaware). The parties were presented with three detailed written opinions spelling out the Court’s rulings and the reasons
In SM Energy Company v. Buzzard Roost Farms, Inc. a Surface and Subsurface Use and Compensation Agreement between operator SM and surface owners included a right of first refusal (ROFR) relating to placement of saltwater disposal wells drilled within five miles of the “Surface Lands”. Failing to notice the ROFR, SM
Last year we reported on Steelhead Midstream Partners, LLC v. CL III Funding Holding Company, LLC, where the Texas Supreme Court held that a pipeline owner’s breach-of-contract claim was not an impermissible collateral attack on a foreclosure judgment. The case went back to the Fort Worth Court of Appeals for a