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.
In response to COVID-19, many companies and their employees have quickly shifted to a “work from home” model. Even though email has been a large part of business for decades, the new “remote” reality has only increased our reliance on electronic communications. In a pair of recent cases, the Texas...
WTX Fund, LLC v. Brown, No. 08-17-00104-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 94 (Tex. App.—El Paso Jan. 8, 2020, pet. filed) In WTX Fund v. Brown, the El Paso Court of Appeals reviewed a dispute as to whether language in a 1951 mineral deed was sufficient to reserve a royalty...
Atmos Energy Corp. v. Paul, No. 02-19-00042-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 1926 (Tex.App.-Ft. Worth, Mar. 5, 2020, no pet.) In this case the Fort Worth Court of Appeals held that a “blanket easement” for multiple pipelines did not require the grantee to lay the additional pipelines along the...
The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston held that provisions within a master service agreement, stating that a subcontractor could only seek payment or damages exclusively from the contractor, were effective to preclude...
Operators across the nation are scrutinizing their leases in a wide-spread effort to navigate historic low oil prices, takeaway curtailment, storage shortages, issues introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a host of associated issues. These circumstances present a variety of complex lease maintenance issues. Most leases obtained during the shale...
McGinnis Lochridge’s Oil & Gas Newsletter: Producer’s Edge keeps clients informed about Texas oil and gas case law, regulatory updates, and insightful articles relevant to the oil and gas community. In this edition, we present several insightful articles, including articles covering lessor/lessee issues to consider when navigating...
