On June 10, Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 19 into law — creating a new specialty court in Texas. These new courts will have significantly limited jurisdiction and are intended to provide a more efficient venue for...more
Recent Texas opinions have clarified the rights and obligations of those constructing long lateral wells through horizontal drilling. BakerHostetler has updated its earlier survey of Texas law on horizontal drilling.
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A recent state-law challenge by environmental groups to an aspect of crude-by-rail transportation has teed up the question of federal supremacy over railroad regulation. Because federal law generally preempts state regulation...more
In the first salvo of a larger environmental-industry showdown impacting Western shale development, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday (Nov. 12, 2014) that the Gunnison Sage Grouse would be granted...more
Conducting commercial operations on tribal lands can pose significant challenges for non-Indian companies. Demonstrating sensitivity to the cultural nuances of Native American society and navigating the complex web of federal...more
While the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has largely disappeared from the news headlines, for the parties involved in the litigation, the legal machinations, particularly with respect to liability, have a long way still to...more
9/24/2014
/ BP ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Clean Water Act ,
Deepwater Horizon ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Gross Negligence ,
Halliburton ,
Negligence ,
Oil & Gas ,
Punitive Damages ,
Transocean
On September 15, 2014, the New Mexico Supreme Court entered a decision in First Baptist Church of Roswell v. Yates Petroleum Corp., a case that could call into question the validity of royalty agreements and division orders...more
With Congress and the White House mired in partisan gridlock and preoccupied by issues like the federal debt ceiling, the Affordable Care Act rollout, and the Edward Snowden leak investigation, states again took the lead on...more