Austin represents Texas operators and non-operators in complex issues and disputes. He seeks practical solutions to avoid litigation, but adopts aggressive courtroom strategies when necessary.
A Texas appeals court held that grantors retained executive rights beyond the fractional mineral interests they conveyed and that a 1958 deed reserved a fixed 1/32 royalty, rebutting the presumption established in Van Dyke v. Navigator Group.
A Texas appeals court held that a non-operating lessee must pay royalty on a cotenant’s production beginning with first production, regardless of payout, and affirmed an attorney’s fee award exceeding $500,000 despite only $17,588 in stipulated interest damages.
A Texas appeals court held that minimum-volume deficiency fees under terminal throughput agreements and crude oil price reductions qualify as deductible post-production transportation costs from an overriding royalty.
A Texas federal court addressed royalty underpayments, lease termination notice requirements, and NGL deductions, holding that underpayments may constitute nonpayment but that termination notices must identify specific unpaid royalties.
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The Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Fasken Oil & Ranch, Ltd. v. Puig narrows the reach of “cost-free” royalty language, holding that “produced from” creates an implied wellhead valuation point permitting deduction of postproduction costs.
