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Operating Agreements

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Non-Operators Shake Off the JOA Tar Baby

By Charles Sartain on November 21, 2013
Posted in Operating Agreements

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…

Unrecorded Override Assignment Trumps the Public Records Doctrine

By Charles Sartain on September 19, 2013
Posted in Land Titles, Lease Disputes, Operating Agreements

Lawyers and landmen are taught that a document affecting real or immovable property not recorded in the public records means nothing to a stranger. Like O. J.’s quest for the real killer, lower premiums after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the present I would have given my wife except I forgot our…

Yes, Virginia,There is an MUI Claus(e)

By Charles Sartain on December 4, 2012
Posted in Operating Agreements
By Travis Booher

History tells us that the young friends of Virginia O’Hanlon broke the news to her that there was no Santa Claus. When she quizzed her father about Santa’s existence, Dad’s fatherly advice was to ask the local newspaper.  “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” You know the rest of…

Operator Not Liable for Breach of JOA – Louisiana Version (Kind of)

By Charles Sartain on November 15, 2012
Posted in Operating Agreements

It’s deju vu all over again in Chesapeake Operating, Inc. v. Sanchez Oil & Gas Corp. More accurately, it is a variation of Reeder v. Wood County Energy, LLC, et al. applied to Louisiana operations. For the impact of the exculpatory clause protecting the operator from liability in the 1989 Model Form JOA, see …

Operator Not Liable for Breach of 1989 Model Form JOA, Part Two

By Charles Sartain on September 27, 2012
Posted in Contract Disputes, Operating Agreements

Co-authored byMarty Averill

As promised in our September 9 post, here is a more detailed analysis of Reeder v. Wood County Energy, LLC, et al, the recent Texas Supreme Court decision holding that an operator is not liable for breach of the 1989 model form JOA absent willful misconduct or gross  negligence.

Operator Not Liable for Breach of 1989 Model Form JOA

By Charles Sartain on September 6, 2012
Posted in Operating Agreements

Co-authored by Marty Averill

If you are a non-operator under the 1989 Model Form Operating Agreement, pay close attention to Reeder v. Wood County Energy, LLC, et al.  The Texas Supreme Court ruled that the operator is not liable to non-operators for breach of the agreement except in the cases of gross negligence or willful…

An Operating Agreement Can Be a Covenant Running With the Land

By Charles Sartain on August 17, 2012
Posted in Land Titles, Operating Agreements

I promise this will be the last post in a while on covenants running with the land. I think we all get it by now (This topic was discussed in my August 1 post).

The Result

A Joint Operating Agreement referenced in documents that is in a party’s chain of title and is, by its…

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About Charles Sartain

I have been helping clients of all types resolve their commercial disputes for most of my 35 years as a lawyer. Of the many industries in which I have worked, the energy business is the most fascinating…More

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