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 disposition…
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/ Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Real Estate - Commercial, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
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 on…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Real Estate - Commercial
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 while…
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/ Energy & Utilities, Environmental Law, Taxation, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
Water Infrastructure -
Senate Bill 7 & House Joint Resolution (HJR) 7 created the administrative structure and framework to fund water projects over the next two decades with a $20 billion package. One billion dollars will be…
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/ Administrative Law, Energy & Utilities, Family Law, Taxation
Use this guide as a reference when filing lien and bond claim notices for the month of July.Be sure to subscribe to the Texas Construction Law Blog to automatically receive our monthly lien and bond guides, as well as other…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Construction Law, Real Estate - Residential
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 in…
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/ Civil Remedies, Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities
The ongoing legal battle over President Trump’s tariffs has taken another not completely unexpected turn, as a federal appeals court has decided to keep the tariffs in effect—at least for now. This decision comes amid a debate…
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/ Constitutional Law, International Law & Trade
On June 5, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, resolving a long-standing split among federal courts and clarifying the evidentiary standard for Title…
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/ Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law
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…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Transportation
On June 4, 2025, the Trump Administration doubled tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from 25% to 50%, the same day as its deadline for trading partners to give their “best offer” in bids to avoid import tax rates on other…
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/ International Law & Trade
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 arrive…
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/ Commercial Law & Contracts, Energy & Utilities, Real Estate - Commercial
The ongoing legal and political saga surrounding President Donald Trump’s tariffs has taken an expected turn following the U.S. Court of International Trade’s surprise ruling earlier this week. A federal appeals court has…
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/ Administrative Law, Commercial Law & Contracts, Constitutional Law, International Law & Trade
Yesterday, May 28, 2025 the U.S. Court of International Trade delivered a landmark decision that could reshape the landscape of American trade policy and presidential authority. The court ruled that President Trump exceeded his…
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/ Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, International Law & Trade
The Internal Revenue Service was aware of significant underreporting of cryptocurrency on tax returns and used one of its investigative tools (i.e., a John Doe summons) in 2016 to seek financial information on thousands of…
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/ Constitutional Law, Finance & Banking, Privacy, Taxation
On May 12, 2025, the United States and the People’s Republic of China agreed to temporarily suspend most tariffs for 90 days. The joint statement released by the Trump Administration states both countries will slash existing…
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/ International Law & Trade