An understanding of Willis v. Barry Graham Oil Service LLC requires knowledge of two principles underlying the Louisiana Anti-Oilfield Indemnity Act:
Marcel Exception to Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Act Clarified
Texas Court Limits Tortious Interference Claims in Oil & Gas Assignment Dispute
Co-author Gunner West
The growling and barking presented by a claim for tortious interference is often far worse than the bite. Consider Segundo Navarro Drilling, Ltd. v. Chilton , which is a good example of that phenomenon in an oil and gas transaction. The Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for defendants, holding that:
Texas Supreme Court Allows Enforcement of a JOA Debt After Foreclosure
Co-author Gunner West
In Steelhead Midstream Partners, LLC v. CL III Funding Holding Company, LLC, the Texas Supreme Court authorized a pipeline owner’s breach-of-contract claim—alleging a co-owner used foreclosure to avoid cost-sharing obligations under a joint operating agreement. The claim was not an impermissible collateral attack against a judgment allowing a foreclosure because the
Scribner’s Error: A Cautionary Tale of Oil & Gas Fraud
Co-author Gunner West
DALF Energy, LLC v. GS Oilfield Services addresses a fiduciary’s deceptive actions in oil and gas transactions. The Fifth Circuit held:
How to Work for Free Under a Master Service Agreement
Kouatli v. Endeavor Energy Resources L.P. offers valuable (and obvious) lessons on how NOT to perform a Master Service Agreement in the oil patch (or, per Billly Bob and friends, “The Patch”), to wit:
Texas Supreme Court Will Review Produced Water Case
Who owns produced water in Texas? And what is produced water anyway – oil and gas waste and part of the mineral estate, or groundwater and part of the surface estate? We may be closer to an answer to these questions now that the Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear
Arbitration Result Can Be “Good”, “Bad” or “Ugly”
The message in RSM Production Corporation v. Gaz du Cameroun SA: According to the federal Fifth Circuit, an arbitration tribunal’s construction of a contract and the arbitration rules governing the dispute “hold, however good, bad, or ugly.” Translation: Good for one party, bad or ugly for the other, just like the courthouse.
RSM was
Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Act Nullifies an Indemnity Obligation
In In the Matter of Offshore Oil Services, Inc., Offshore owned and operated the M/V Anna. Offshore sued Island Operating Company for exoneration and/or limitation of liability for a personal injury claim by an employee of Island. The question (after a series of earlier rulings): After reaching a settlement with the employee of Island
Definitions Mattered in Oil Field Master Services Agreements
MDC Enegy LLC v. Crosby Energy Services Inc. et al. was an indemnity dispute in which the players were many and the facts complicated.
But first
Gray Reed’s own Mitch Ackal and Jeremy Walter will present an entertaining and informative webinar on Texas Business Courts on January 29 at noon. Use this link to learn
Master Service Agreement Imposes a Ceiling on Indemnity Obligations
Mr./Ms. Negotiator/scrivener/reviewer of Master Service Agreements: When did you last review your go-to indemnity provision? In light of Century Surety Company v. Colgate Operating LLC., perhaps you should do it now. The court deemed an innocuous-seeming indemnity provision to impose a ceiling on indemnity obligations under an MSA. Is your MSA consistent with