Karli v. Wilson instructs mineral/royalty traders and their scriveners on a surefire way to create title chaos out of what could have been an uncomplicated land transaction. In 1950 the Wilson siblings and spouses executed a...more
For an example of a case gone wrong in so many ways, look no further than Evans Resources LP et al v. Diamondback E & P. -
The facts...more
In Marathon Oil Co. v. Mercuria Energy America, LLC, the Texas Business Court (11th Division) considered a North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) contract to buy and sell natural gas. With three opinions to discuss,...more
White Star Energy Inc. v. Ridgefield Permian Minerals, LLC is yet another title dispute reiterating that buying minerals that were once the subject of a tax suit foreclosure is fraught with uncertainty regardless of who you...more
In Byrne Oil Co. v. Walraven, a court of appeals held that a surface owner/lessor cannot bury his lessee’s pipelines and recover costs when adequate time exists to pursue judicial remedies, even after years of operator delay....more
11/3/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Disputes ,
Damages ,
Injunctions ,
Mineral Leases ,
Nuisance ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Surface Owner ,
Texas
Lula Eades once owned minerals in Loving County, Texas. In 2000, in a single lawsuit the Wink-Loving ISD and Loving County foreclosed on the mineral and royalty interests of more than 80 owners, including Lula. In Ridgefield...more
Once again, a Texas court has barred a lawsuit because the plaintiff waited too long to file. And once again, perhaps, the suit was a Hail Mary after alternatives failed.
In Hobson v. Commissioners Court of Palo Pinto...more
10/21/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Easements ,
Injunctions ,
Lack of Authority ,
Lack of Jurisdiction ,
Land Owners ,
Land Use Claims ,
State and Local Government ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Texas
Ambiguity is handy for office-seekers intending to walk back “promises” they later say they really didn’t make. It doesn’t work so well for the stability of land titles. In Thagard Mineral Partnership, LP v. Cass v. RIM, LLP,...more
You would think that a Master Service Contract concerning boats and oilfield operations in the Gulf of Mexico would be governed by federal maritime law. In some situations you would be mistaken, says Offshore Oil Services,...more
Some things aren’t. In keeping with its familiar journalistic standards, the New York Times presents fact-free opinion in a place (page 1, top of the fold) usually reserved for news, this time in its July 26-27 International...more
Defendants – five oil and gas operators – challenged a venue selection clause requiring that suits be filed in Nueces County for disputes over La Salle County acreage. In In re INEOS USA Oil & Gas LLC, a Texas Court of...more
O’Connor v. O’Connor addresses tracing of property in a divorce proceeding and an evidentiary issue, but there are lessons for parties to mineral deeds as well. First, …
A few Texas marital property rules -
Property...more
9/9/2025
/ Admissible Evidence ,
Asset Tracing ,
Divorce ,
Family Law Courts ,
Land Titles ,
Marital Assets ,
Mineral Rights ,
Minerals ,
Separate Property ,
Spouses ,
Texas
If you are the type to be preoccupied with the drudgery nuances of federal statutory and regulatory interpretation, or if you have a fetish for acronyms, I recommend that you read all 41 spellbinding pages of W&T Offshore v....more
City of Crowley v. TotalEnergies E&P USA, is a post-production cost (PPC) case with a predictable result. The Fort Worth Court of Appeals confirmed its reasoning in Shirlaine W. Props. Ltd. v. Jamestown Res., L.L.C from 2021,...more
The Texas Supreme Court in Roxo Energy Company, LLC v. Baxsto, LLC reinforced a fundamental contract principle: when fully integrated agreements plainly conflict with prior oral representations, reliance on those inconsistent...more
“He who comes for the inheritance is often made to pay for the funeral”.* When heirs inherit property together and can’t agree on its use, Texas courts strongly prefer dividing the land physically rather than forcing a sale,...more
8/5/2025
/ Appellate Courts ,
Heirs ,
Inheritance ,
Land Titles ,
Oil & Gas ,
Partitions ,
Petition for Partition ,
Property Owners ,
Real Estate Investments ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Tenancy-in-Common ,
Texas
It seems to be fairly well settled that you can’t use trespass-to-try-title to recover a nonpossessory royalty interest in Texas. What if you call the interest a “mineral interest stripped of every attribute except the right...more
State of Texas. V. Reimer et al. studied lawyer-nerdy questions of standing to bring a lawsuit and statutes of limitations as applied to inverse condemnation suits. Spoiler alert: To the chagrin of the landowners, waiting...more
7/22/2025
/ Adverse Possession ,
Eminent Domain ,
Inverse Condemnation ,
Judicial Authority ,
Land Titles ,
Mineral Leases ,
Oil & Gas ,
Property Owners ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Takings Clause ,
Texas
Dow Construction, LLC v. BPX Operating Company resolved a bundle of issues arising out of a drilling unit established by the Louisiana Commissioner of Conservation: who has the right to a drilling cost report, the operator’s...more
In Cactus Water v. COG Operating, the Supreme Court affirmed that mineral lessee COG, not water rights owner Cactus (who derived it rights from the surface owner), has the right to possession, custody, control, and...more
In Franklin v. Regions Bank the Fifth Circuit concluded that a royalty clause in a mineral lease resulted in a gross proceeds royalty; the royalty owners did not bear their proportionate share of post-production costs. Read...more
Your Legislature has adjourned after enacting significant bills affecting the energy industry. To sum it up, the industry has friends in high places whenever the Lege is in session (Alternative energy was in jeopardy for a...more
6/24/2025
/ Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Infrastructure ,
New Legislation ,
Nuclear Power ,
Oil & Gas ,
Orphan Wells ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
State Legislatures ,
State Taxes ,
Texas ,
Water ,
Wind Power
The takeaway from DDR Weinert, Limited et al v. Ovintiv USA Inc. is that equitable recoupment rescued a royalty payor from its mistaken payment of royalties. But first,
The events.
The Richters were mineral lessors...more
In American Midstream (Alabama Intrastate), LLC v. Rainbow Energy Marketing Corporation, the Texas Supreme Court held that the trial court improperly inserted the words “scheduled” and “physical” into a contract. By...more
In Cromwell v. Anadarko E & P Onshore LLC the Supreme Court of Texas did what it so often does: In order to provide “legal certainty and predictability”, the Court considered the plain language of a contract in order to...more