Late last week, the Texas Supreme Court told a cautionary tale for operators with its unanimous opinion in Samson Exploration LLC v. T.S. Reed Properties Inc., which addressed the circumstance in which a well is situated within not just one pooled unit, but instead within two overlapping units. The operator, Samson Exploration, took it upon itself to pay royalties from the well to interest owners from one of the units, to the exclusion of the…
Seeing Double: Operator Must Pay Royalties To Multiple Units, Says Texas Supreme Court
Jury Returns Defense Verdict for Operator That Deducted Affiliate Fees from Royalties
In this week’s edition of our energy law podcast, you’ll learn about multiple decisions that came out of the Texas Supreme Court on Friday, which can directly impact your operations in the oil patch, as well as one of the first jury verdicts addressing the increasing trend of mineral lessors challenging the deduction from their royalties of affiliate fees for post-production transportation and processing. The podcast is available on iTunes and on Google Play, so…
Texas Supreme Court Upends Traditional Rules of Construction for Mineral Deeds
On Friday, a deeply divided Texas Supreme Court—in a surprising turn of events—disturbed long-standing rules for interpreting mineral conveyances in its 5-4 decision in Wenske v. Ealy. There, when the Wenskes bought property in Lavaca County in 1998, the sellers kept for themselves a 1/4th non-participating royalty interest (the “NPRI”). Five years later, the Wenske family sold the land to the Ealys, by way of a deed expressly providing that the sale was “subject to”…
Texas Appeals Court Issues Decision That Could Undermine Non-Solicitation Agreements In The Oil Patch
Your non-solicitation agreement with your employees in the oil patch may have just been gutted by a new decision from a Texas court of appeals. Join me and employment lawyer Andrea Johnson for the latest episode of the firm’s energy law podcast, as we discuss the shifting state of the law and ways you can ensure that your company is protected.
Texas Supreme Court Declines To Disrupt Mineral Ownership Based On New Tort
Last week, the Supreme Court “giveth and taketh away” in a case involving the sale of a ranch, critically including subsurface mineral interests. Specifically, in Kinsel v. Lindsey, the Court clarified that it has not recognized a cause of action for tortious interference with an inheritance. While leaving the issue open for future consideration, the Court, citing its opinion in the minority shareholder case of Ritchie v. Rupe, 443 S.W.3d 856 (Tex. 2014), and after taking a…
Eighth Circuit Makes It Easier For Plaintiffs To Take Fracing Contamination Claims To Trial
In the latest episode of our energy law podcast: the Eighth Circuit makes it easier for plaintiffs to take fracing contamination claims to trial; the Texas Supreme Court rules on the validity of county-wide mineral conveyances; and the Oklahoma Supreme Court is asked to clarify the often vexing “marketable product” rule for post-production expense deductions. Our energy law podcast features new episodes every week, and is available at www.energylawroundup.com and also on iTunes and on Google…
BREAKING: Texas Supreme Court Upholds Validity of County-Wide Mineral Deeds
For the second Friday in a row, the Texas Supreme Court has issued a watershed decision with sweeping implications for the oil-and-gas industry. Last week, the Court ruled that offsite penetration—horizontal drilling across one tract to reach a second tract—does not constitute mineral trespass. Yesterday, the Court decided an appeal that challenged, as ambiguous, a mineral conveyance that had been made on a county-wide basis (in other words, a mineral deed providing for the transfer of all the seller’s…
New Guidance for Noise and Pollution Claims in the Oil Patch
Featured in this week’s episode of our energy law podcast: the Texas Supreme Court issues new guidance for noise-and-pollution claims in the oil patch, as well as a landmark opinion on subsurface mineral trespass; Colorado energy regulators ask their state’s high court to clarify their responsibilities; another federal court strikes down an oil-and-gas class action for lack of common facts; and the Texas Railroad Commission survives Sunset review without a scratch.
BREAKING: Horizontal Drilling Across Neighboring Tract Not Trespass, Says Texas Supreme Court
In a case that has been closely watched in the oil-and-gas industry, yesterday the Texas Supreme Court decided whether drilling through a mineral estate—one which is not under lease by the driller—to access a reservoir beneath a bordering tract constitutes a form of trespass. The operator in the case, Anadarko Petroleum, secured permission from the surface owner—of a tract adjacent to the company’s leasehold—to spud a well and drill directionally into the mineral estate “next door.”…
The Texas Railroad Commission Will Not Ride Off Into The Sunset
In Texas, all state agencies effectively have an “expiration date”: each is periodically abolished, by operation of law, unless the Legislature passes a bill to extend its existence. Established in 1977, the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission evaluates agencies and issues recommendations to lawmakers. According to the agency’s website, “Sunset answers a basic question for the Texas Legislature: Are an agency’s functions needed, and if so, how can the agency work better and save money for…