Email is the way we communicate these days. Whether emails create a contract is important if you’re thinking nothing short of scribblings on a piece of old parchment could ever bind anybody or, to the contrary, your goal is to establish an enforceable agreement. Before hitting “send”, consider Bujnoch v. Copano. Questions of fact precluded a summary judgment denying an agreement. A jury will decide the question.
Continue Reading Can Emails Establish an Easement in Texas?
Gloria’s Ranch v. Tauren et al – the Louisiana lenders’ bad dream
Anyone seeking stability in the law governing E&P activities in Louisiana will view the lower court decision as a grave error that must be corrected. Virtually every mortgage provides safeguards to protect collateral and manage lenders’ risk. The court of appeal reasoned that because of those provisions, the lender controlled the ability of the borrower to execute a release of a mineral lease, resulting in solidary liability when the borrower-lessee failed to release its lease.
Continue Reading An Oil and Gas Case to Expect From Louisiana, and Another From Texas
Co-author Chance DeckerThe Texas Supreme Court recently heard oral argument in three intriguing oil and gas cases. Here’s what you need to know about two of them (We’ll address the third case soon).
Adams v. Murphy Exploration & Production Co. USA
Did lessee Murphy comply with an offset-well clause that doesn’t state where the offset-well must be drilled? When a well was drilled on an adjacent tract, Murphy drilled its offset-well more than 2,000 feet from the triggering well.
Continue Reading Opinions to Expect From the Texas Supreme Court
To begin, choose from these candidates for the all-world spendthrift hall of fame:
In Bradley v. Shaffer, Darrell, a beneficiary of a mineral trust established by his grandparents, purported to convey to Bradley his mineral interests that were subject to the trust and any interest held in trust that he might acquire in the future. The trustees sued, alleging that Darrell had no authority to convey his beneficial interest. Bradley argued that an extension of the trust violated the Rule Against Perpetuities. Spoiler: It didn’t.
A primer on Texas trust law … who owns what and other rules:
Continue Reading Mineral Conveyance Thwarted by a Spendthrift Provision
Cases like Hahn v. Gips et al are like eating your broccoli – not so tasty but lots of fiber. The “fiber” here is the effect of a partition deed in which not all the cotenants join.
Continue Reading A Partition Deed Fails in Texas
Updated for a math infraction, thanks to several astute readers.
In Glassell Producing Company v. Naquin, the question was:
Did a conveyance among siblings create a real right in property, or was it an appendage of a lease that ceased to burden the property once that lease was terminated?
Continue Reading An “Appendage” Determines a Louisiana Royalty Dispute
Co-author Chance DeckerHow many times must an operator suffer for a mistake in a unit declaration? Samson Exploration LLC v. T. S. Reed Properties Inc. makes it twice. (See Hooks v. Samson Lone Star for the first round). The Texas Supreme Court ruled that a lessee could not avoid a contractual obligation to pay royalties from a zone shared by two pooled units.
Continue Reading Unit Operator Pays For a Problem of its Own Making
Conoco Phillips Company v. Ramirez et al is a helpful reminder when preparing a document transferring title:
Continue Reading Informal Description Dooms Oil and Gas Leases
Co-author Chance DeckerYou’ve seen the headlines. The portrait is complete; the verdict is in; the clock has run down to zero. The devastation of Harvey is “unprecedented” and it’s all because of climate change. That’s not necessarily so, thanks to Powerline and Dr. Roy Spencer. Read it and reach your own conclusion.
And now, on to the the law
Apache Deepwater, LLC v. Double Eagle Development, LLC asked whether a retained acreage clause provided for “rolling terminations” after the primary term or “snapshot termination”. As you might expect, the result depended on the language of the lease.
Continue Reading Harvey and Climate Change, and Consideration of a Retained Acreage Clause
Co-author Chance Decker“The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules”. The Joker to Batman, The Dark Knight
Subject-to, reservations-from, and exceptions-to problems have been lurking in the shadows of Texas jurisprudence for a while now, and the courts have been all over the map in recent holdings (Title nerd and proud of it? Compare this example with this one.)
In Wenske v. Ealy, the Supreme Court channeled our superhero’s painted friend, essentially jettisoning the old rules and confirming the new rule in deed construction cases: There are no “rules”.
Continue Reading Does Texas Have a New “Rule” in Conveyancing?