Clifton v. Johnson: The Texas Supreme Court Puts Some Guardrails on Van Dyke
The Texas Supreme Court's Clifton v. Johnson decision delivers the clearest guidance yet on when the Van Dyke floating royalty presumption can be overcome.
Producer’s Edge
TEXAS OIL AND GAS LAW BULLETIN
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The Texas Business Court Continues to Stress the Importance of Properly Pleading Facts to Support Your Cause of Action
The Texas Business Court's latest opinion in Enosis Investments v. Jensen delivers another clear message: insufficient pleading will sink your case — before it ever reaches trial.
26-Step Mechanical Framework For Interpreting Deeds?
Texas courts reject "mechanical" deed interpretation while creating a 26-step framework. Bush v. Yarborough reveals the irony of structured analysis disguised as flexible law.
Supreme Court of Texas Washes Out the “Anadarko Washout”
If your co-tenant drills the well… does your lease still live? The Texas Supreme Court just tackled a high-stakes question that’s shaken up oil and gas titles across the state.
Plain Language Meets Common Sense: Hidden Traps in Oil Patch Contract Interpretation
What happens when a court reads your contract literally for one issue but decides what 'makes sense' for another? A geophysicist just found out.
Unclear Jury Instructions Allow for Various Interpretations
Lario Oil & Gas Co. v. Black Hawk Energy Services, Ltd. highlights the importance of carefully drafting jury instructions and questions.
Highway to Oil: Strip-And-Gore Leads to 30-Acres of Minerals Underlying a Highway
Green v. Chesapeake Expl., L.L.C., No. 02-17-00405-CV, 2018 Tex.; App. LEXIS 10307 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth Dec. 13, 2018, no pet.) In urban oil and gas plays such as the Barnett Shale, horizontal drilling has "paved the way" for oil and gas operators...
Texas Court Addresses the Use of Contract Operators
OBO, Inc. v. Apache Corp., 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 8392, (Tex.Civ.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2018, no pet.) Parties to a joint operating agreement sometimes elect to have a non-owner serve as the operator. For example, interest owners may determine that they are unwilling or unable to perform...
Four Recent Drainage and Offset Cases: A Texas Litigation Trend?
Three recent Texas cases have focused on the interpretation of express offset provisions in oil and gas leases. Over the last year, the Texas oil and gas industry has experienced what some commentators have called “Shale Boom 2.0,” with increased drilling activity in South Texas and the Permian Basin,...
Producer's Edge: Volume 1, Issue 1
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 first edition, we highlight several recent Texas oil and gas cases. We also highlight...
Can A Driller Trespass While Fracking On Its Own Lease? Partner Don Jackson Discusses Underground Trespass in Law360
In his article published in Law360, Don Jackson examined the key issue in Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Prod. Co., currently pending before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Appellate Court Holds that Landowner’s “Course of Dealing” Leads to Waiver
In June 2018, the Dallas Court of Appeals issued its memorandum opinion in Tollet v. Surface, holding that an ambiguous royalty provision in a groundwater lease, when read in light of the parties' course of dealings, allowed the lessee to make royalty payments once per month with a 90-...
