Increasingly, class actions are—for all intents and purposes—won or lost at the certification stage. After all, if a class is certified, especially under the heightened standards for class treatment that have been articulated by the United States Supreme Court in recent years, the exposure for defendants in the vast majority of cases is simply too great to risk a jury trial on the merits. This is, of course, why lucrative settlements often follow so closely…
Class Action Certification In the Oil Patch: Red Herrings Often Abound
Drilling on Federal Lands: Department of Interior Issues Order to Curb Delays
Yesterday, the Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, signed an order that seeks to tamp down on delays in the permitting of federal land for oil-and-gas exploration and production activities. The Interior Department’s press release is available here, and the order itself can be accessed at this link. As of January 31st of this year, there was a backlog of over 2,800 applications for drilling permits on federal leases. In a telephonic press conference, Secretary Zinke…
Seeing Double: Operator Must Pay Royalties To Multiple Units, Says Texas Supreme Court
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…
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.