Oil & Gas
Texas Supreme Court Redefines an Offset Well Clause
News
The Court purported to limit its holding to these facts, but the opinion could have far-reaching consequences, according to Gray Reed & McGraw.
PA Court Rejects Fracking Company’s Appeal In ‘Rule Of Capture’ Decision
News
A Pennsylvania appeals court rejected a request by a natural gas production company to rehear a case whose outcome could affect drillers across the country, reports WSKG.
Oil Firm, Once Called ‘Wolf of Wall Street Type’ Company, Sued By SEC for Fraud
News
Company brochures said that some of the wells were expected to provide returns of 300 to 500 percent, a number the SEC said conflicted with geologist production estimates, reports The Dallas Morning News.
Texas Court Holds Drop in Oil Prices is Not Force Majeure
News
Oil and gas operators should be careful to expressly identify any market-based risks that they want to encompass within force majeure provisions, advises Liskow & Lewis.
AZA’s Tim Shelby Appointed to Texas State Bar’s Oil & Gas Jury Charges Committee
News
Tim Shelby, a partner in Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C., or AZA, was appointed to a three-year term on the State Bar of Texas’ Oil & Gas Pattern Jury Charges Committee.
Ask and You Shall (Not?) Receive: Retained Acreage Clauses and the Texas Supreme Court
News
Two Texas Supreme Court decisions confirm that retained acreage clauses that vary in language from one instrument to another will likely vary in effect, according to Gray Reed & McGraw’s Energy & the Law blog.
Subcontractors Sue Valero Over Explosion at Texas City Refinery
News
The workers are seeking damages based on claims that they suffered orthopedic injuries and hearing loss from the accident and are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, reports the San Antonio Business Journal.
5th Circuit Sets New Test to Determine If Certain Contracts on Navigable Waters Are Maritime
News
The Fifth Circuit departed from the six-factor test used in cases like Davis & Sons in favor of a new, stream-lined two-pronged test to determine whether a contract like the one at issue was maritime in nature, according to Duane Morris LLP.
20 Dismissed Colorado Royalty Cases: Is There a Good-Faith Basis for Filing in District Court?
News
Two judges of the District Court for the City and County of Denver dismissed royalty underpayment lawsuits for failure to exhaust administrative remedies before the Commission, reports BakerHostetler.
Joint Ventures in the Oil and Gas Industry: Upstream Joint Ventures
On-Demand
This Latham & Watkins series explores market trends driving recent joint ventures, as well as structural options, potential challenges, and other considerations related to joint ventures, within both the midstream and upstream spaces.
Texas Anti-SLAPP Statute Used in Oil & Gas Lease Dispute
News
The case involves the dispute over whether a petroleum company’s oil and gas lease had expired.
Term Royalty Interests Survive the Rule Against Perpetuities in Texas
News
The rule provides “that no interest within its scope is good unless it must vest, if at all, not later than twenty-one years after some life in being at the creation of the interest.”
Pennsylvania, Texas Courts Disagree on Whether Rule of Capture Applies to Fracturing
Insight
A recent Superior Court of Pennsylvania ruling in a case concerning hydraulic fracturing runs counter to a ruling in a similar case by the Texas Supreme Court, reports Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody.
Energy Company’s Bankruptcy Generating Enron-Sized Legal Fees
News
Total fees for all the professionals probably will hit $1 billion, according to Energy Future Holdings General Counsel Andy Wright.
Judge Dismisses Exxon’s Lawsuit, Letting Multi-State Fraud Investigation Continue
News
A U.S. district judge in New York on Thursday dismissed Exxon’s lawsuit claiming officials in New York and Massachusetts conspired with environmental groups in planning the securities-fraud probe.
An Indemnity Agreement Means What it Says
Insight
Parties can write an agreement to indemnify one another against claims they later assert against each other. To do so, the parties must expressly and specifically state that intention, writes Charles Sartain of Gray Reed.
Political and Economic Realities Hamper Efforts to Reopen U.S. Waters to Offshore Drilling
Insight
A post on the website of Haynes and Boone calls attention to an apparent failure to acknowledge economic realities of oil and gas leasing and operating in the Outer Continental Shelf.
Houston Trial Lawyer Courtney Ervin Joins Hicks Thomas as a Partner
News
Trial lawyer Courtney Ervin has joined commercial litigation boutique Hicks Thomas LLP, the firm announced.
Global Warming Public Nuisance Actions Will Stay in Federal Court
News
The cities claim that the companies, despite knowing of the risks associated with climate change and global warming, continued to produce and sell their products to the public that uses fossil fuels.
FERC has Options if Court of Appeals Shuts Down Operating Interstate Pipeline
Insight
A Pierce Atwood article discusses a ruling that raises the possibility that a court will vacate certificates of public convenience and necessity authorizing the construction and operation of some functioning gas pipelines.
