News & Analysis as of

Texas Breach of Contract

Gray Reed

Texas Operator Protected From Royalty Payment Error

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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

Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court Decides Who Must Produce to Maintain an Oil and Gas Lease

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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

Zelle  LLP

Holding an Insured to its Duties and Burdens

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Once in a while, there is an insurance case that addresses numerous “common” issues and reaffirms the parties’ respective duties in supporting and adjusting claims, promptly making repairs, and mitigating loss. The recent...more

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

Zelle  LLP

When Coverage Disagreements Are Justified: The Bona Fide Dispute Doctrine in Action

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In Texas, bad faith claims arising under the Texas Insurance Code or the common law are routinely asserted by plaintiffs in first-party insurance disputes. While these causes of action are frequently pled, mere disagreement...more

Jackson Walker

Business Court of Texas Rebuffs Member’s Duty Claim, Reaffirms Freedom of Contract in LLC Agreement

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A recent opinion from the Business Court of Texas, Eighth Division (Fort Worth), provides a crisp reminder that an LLC’s company agreement can all but eliminate fiduciary duties among its members and managers. In Tall v....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

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

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

Zelle  LLP

Concurrent Causation is Key – Fifth Circuit Holds Insured to its Causative Burden

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The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment granted by the bankruptcy court in favor of commercial property insurer in a Winter Storm Uri claim, holding that the insured motel owners...more

Zelle  LLP

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

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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

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

Jackson Walker

Texas Business Court Upholds Fiduciary Duty Waivers and Clarifies Limits on Partnership Agreement Provisions

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Only six months into a complicated partnership dispute, the Business Court of Texas, 1st Division, issued a thorough summary judgment opinion and order in the case of Primexx Energy Opportunity Fund, LP v. Primexx Energy...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

Hendershot Cowart P.C.

Responding to Suspected Embezzlement, Misappropriation: A Texas Business Owner's Guide

As a Texas business owner, discovering that a partner, employee, or manager may be embezzling funds can be devastating. Left unaddressed, financial misappropriation can threaten your company's stability, compromise...more

Gray Reed

Texas Court Limits Tortious Interference Claims in Oil & Gas Assignment Dispute

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The growling and barking presented by a claim for tortious interference is often far worse than the bite. Consider Segundo Navarro Drilling, Ltd. v. Chilton , which is a good example of that phenomenon in an oil and gas...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Who Can Enforce Surface Provisions in an OGL?

McGinnis Lochridge on

Unitex WI, LLC v. CT Land & Cattle Co., LLC, No. 07-23-00390-CV, 2024 WL 3249338 (Tex. App.—Amarillo June 28, 2024, pet. filed)...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Winter Storm Uri and Force Majeure: The Legal Battles Continue

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Winter Storm Uri sent shockwaves through Texas, freezing gas supplies at a time of critical need and plunging the state into widespread power outages. In the aftermath, the courts have been flooded with force majeure claims,...more

Zelle  LLP

Southern District of Texas Holds Benefits-Lost Rule Inapplicable, Alleged Delay in ALE Payments Not an “Independent Injury”

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On October 17, 2024, Judge Andrew S. Hanen in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division properly held that: (1) the Benefits-Lost rule does not apply where the insured did not...more

Gray Reed

Manufacturing Matters: Controlling Construction Costs

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Manufacturing construction is anticipating an uptick in 2025 with expected domestic economic protections and the continued consumer demand. Texas will remain a hotbed for this activity with continued business relocations,...more

Gray Reed

Definitions Mattered in Oil Field Master Services Agreements

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MDC Enegy LLC v. Crosby Energy Services Inc. et al. was an indemnity dispute in which the players were many and the facts complicated. But first...more

Snell & Wilmer

An Introduction to the New Texas Business Courts

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It has been approximately two months since the newly established Texas business court system began accepting its first filings on September 1, 2024. This article provides a brief introductory overview of this new court system...more

King & Spalding

Texas Bankruptcy Court Significantly Reduces Damages Claims In Connection With Uptier Transaction

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On August 21, 2024, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas held that, while the debtor breached an agreement arising from an uptier transaction, the creditor was limited to a breach of contract claim and...more

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