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Contract Disputes Texas

McGinnis Lochridge

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Limits of Shut-In Payment Notations in Lease Disputes

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In this case (Scout Energy Mgmt., LLC v. Taylor Properties, No. 23-1014, 2024 WL 5249490 [Tex. Dec. 31, 2024]), the Texas Supreme Court held that vague notations on shut-in royalty check receipts cannot modify an unambiguous...more

Gray Reed

Operator Excused from Texas Relinquishment Act Claims

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In Williams O & G Resources, LLC v. Diamondback Energy, Inc., a federal magistrate judge concluded that the Texas Relinquishment Act does not apply to public-school lands patented after 1931. The report and recommendation was...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Production Disputes and Estoppel Claims Cloud Lease Termination in Milam County

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In this lease termination case (Pruett v. River Land Holdings, LLC, No. 03-22-00478-CV, 2024 WL 1745652, at *1 [Tex. App.—Austin Apr. 24, 2024, no pet.]), the Austin Court of Appeals was tasked with examining a cessation of...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Texas Supreme Court Reverses Liability Finding Against Franchisor

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A recent Texas Supreme Court decision fully overturned a jury’s finding that a franchisor was liable for the criminal actions of a franchisee’s employee. This decision underscores the importance of a franchisor having clearly...more

Gray Reed

Texas Pore Space Ownership – Royalty Calculation

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In Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Underground Services Markham, LLC et al, (discussed previously) the parties disagreed on how to calculate Myers’ royalty on salt produced by Underground....more

Jackson Walker

Business Court of Texas Clarifies “Qualified Transaction” Jurisdiction

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The Business Court of Texas’ recent opinion in Atlas IDF, LP v. NexPoint Real Estate Partners, LLC offers important guidance on the meaning of a “qualified transaction” under Texas Government Code Chapter 25A and the...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Who Owns the Empty Space? Texas Supreme Court Affirms Surface Ownership of Salt Caverns in Landmark Ruling

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In Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Underground Services Markham, LLC, No. 22-0878, 2025 WL 4356581 (Tex. May 16, 2025), the Texas Supreme Court resolved two significant issues affecting mineral owners and surface owners: (1) who owns...more

Baker Botts L.L.P.

Write it Down or Forever Hold Your Peace: Texas Supreme Court Rejects Fraud Claims Based on Oral Representations in Mineral Deals

Baker Botts L.L.P. on

On Friday, May 9th, the Supreme Court of Texas addressed important issues regarding the enforcement of written contractual representations in its per curiam opinion styled Roxo Energy Co., LLC et al. v. Baxsto, LLC, ---...more

McGinnis Lochridge

All Depths or Just One Formation? Court Clarifies Royalty Conveyance in Rock River v. Pioneer

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This recent case (Rock River Minerals, LP v. Pioneer Nat. Res. USA Inc., No. 08-23-00216-CV, 2024 WL 4528917 [Tex. App.—El Paso Oct. 18, 2024, no pet. h.]) explored whether an assignment of an overriding royalty interest,...more

Gray Reed

Uri Force Majeure Cases Still Percolating

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Thought you’d heard the last of force majuere cases arising from Winter Storm Uri? Think again. In Marathon Oil Company v. Koch Services LLC. the question was how to measure damages suffered by Koch for Marathon’s...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Affirmative Defenses Are Insufficient to Rebut the Van Dyke Presumption

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Under Van Dyke, deeds with double-fraction royalty reservations referencing “1/8” are presumed to reserve a floating royalty interest unless clearly contradicted. Defenses like waiver, ratification, and limitations cannot...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Fifth Circuit: "Manifest Disregard of the Law" Cannot Be Grafted to FAA as a Basis for Vacatur of Arbitration Award

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In affirming a district court’s denial of a petition to vacate an arbitration award, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently rejected the argument “that manifest disregard of the law remains viable as an...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Tariff Turbulence: Navigating Force Majeure Risks in Texas Oil and Gas Contracts

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Upstream oil and gas producers and oilfield service companies are facing new uncertainties from recently imposed federal tariffs. In early 2025, the US expanded tariffs on a broad range of imports, suddenly increasing costs...more

Gray Reed

Understanding Lumber Tariffs: What Texas Contractors Need to Know

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In the face of increased tariffs, including a 14.38% tariff on Canadian lumber, the lumber market is undergoing developments that could have substantial implications for construction projects across Texas. It is important to...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Can "Free of Cost" Term Achieve Point-of-Sale Royalty Base?

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A lessee who halts production for less than 40 days and resumes without drilling or reworking does not terminate the lease. The continuous development clause keeps the lease active, and the cessation clause allows resumed...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Manifest Disregard Discarded: Fifth Circuit Limits Grounds to Vacate Arbitration Awards

“Manifest disregard of the law” is no longer a valid basis to challenge arbitration awards, at least not in the federal courts of Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. Rather, according to the Fifth Circuit’s decision in U.S....more

McGinnis Lochridge

Texas Supreme Court Rules on Modification of NPRIs

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In this recent case, the Texas Supreme Court resolved whether ratification of a lease or signing of a stipulation agreement could transform a fixed non-participating royalty interest (NPRI) into a floating NPRI....more

Jackson Walker

Understanding “Action Over” Claims and Third-Party Over Indemnity

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An “action over” (also called a “third-party over action”) is a type of legal action (lawsuit or arbitration) in which an injured employee, after collecting workers’ compensation benefits from his employer, files a tort claim...more

Oliva Gibbs

Reservation or Limitation on Warranty? Navigating the Fine Line — Lessons from Valence Operating Co. v. Davidson

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In Valence Operating Co. v. Davidson1, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana addressed whether the provision, “all Oil, Gas and other Minerals have been excepted and reserved by former...more

Zelle  LLP

Any is Not All and The Future is Not Now: The Contours of the Cosmetic Damage Exclusion Taking Shape

Zelle LLP on

In Iyengar v. Liberty Insurance Corporation, No. SA-21-CV-1091-FB, 2024 WL 5505300 (W.D. Tex. Dec. 13, 2024), District Judge Biery denied Plaintiffs’ Motion for Clarification regarding Magistrate Judge Bemporad’s...more

Gray Reed

What’s the Difference Between a Mineral Reservation and an Exception?

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The category is “terms that confuse us” for one hundred dollars. Without resorting to your favorite legal dictionary or lawyer, explain the difference between a reservation and an exception in a Texas warranty deed. Stumped?...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Tackling Free-Use and At-The-Well Royalties

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This lease royalty case involved a dispute over whether the lessee was permitted to deduct volumes of gas used off the premises to power post-production activities on other gas produced from the same well. Carl v. Hilcorp...more

Hendershot Cowart P.C.

Private Equity and the Corporate Practice of Medicine: What Texas Physicians Need to Know

Hendershot Cowart P.C. on

Private equity (PE) firms are increasingly investing in physician practices and the broader healthcare industry. While these arrangements can provide capital and operational expertise, they may also inadvertently violate...more

Jackson Walker

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Fiduciary Duties Between Business Partners

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The Texas Supreme Court has provided clarity on the fiduciary duties between business partners, particularly in the context of limited partnerships. The case, Bertucci v. Watkins, involved a dispute between two business...more

Gray Reed

Manufacturing Matters: Change Orders

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Manufacturing construction is booming across Texas in early 2025, with Samsung’s landmark $17 billion semiconductor facility in Taylor, Texas leading the charge as part of a broader trend concentrated along major metro areas...more

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