Landowner and mineral owner (that includes you, lessee): Under ETC Texas Pipeline, Ltd. v. Ageron Energy, LLC, your right to sue for damages for tort or trespass could pass into history before you even know you have a claim....more
See yesterday’s post on Iskandia Operating, LLC v. SWEPI, LP - SWEPI’s motion for summary judgment alleged that Iskandia presented no evidence of one or more elements of its trespass claim, noting that the Supreme Court of...more
Imagine these facts in a force majeure dispute (as presented in Point Energy Partners Permian LLC et al. v. MRC Permian Company). Lessee (MRC) invokes the force majeure provision of an oil and gas lease, asserting that...more
This is a familiar yet troubling question. Imagine you own 135 acres in Washington County. You have received offers from several oil and gas drillers but have not yet signed a lease. Your neighbor, however, did sign a lease...more
On January 18, 2023, in TERA, LLC v. Rice Drilling D, LLC, et al., --- N.E.3d ----, 2023-Ohio-273, the Seventh District Court of Appeals issued a key decision concerning mineral trespass law in Ohio. The court of appeals...more
Let’s proceed directly to the takeaways from Fort Apache Energy, Inc. v. Short OG III, Ltd., et al, a Southern District of Texas bankruptcy court opinion. (Gray Reed partners Jim Ormiston and David Leonard represented Short...more
SM Energy Co. v. Union Pac. R.R. Co. considers a question frequently asked in Texas suits affecting title: When is a suit a trespass to try title action and not a declaratory judgment action?...more
Scribner v. Wineinger, et al. affirms that acquisition of a Texas oil and gas leasehold by limitations is not defeated if the adverse possessor’s acknowledgement of a claimant’s title comes too late....more
Harrison v. Rosetta Resources Operating LP presents a wacky? time-wasting? clever? unsuccessful attempt to expand reinvent the Texas accomodation doctrine....more
It is often a worthy strategy for the lessee to be aggressive with counterclaims against the lessor. Lessees should think twice about that strategy if it means complaining about the lessor’s public statements. In Lona Hills...more
Trespass by hydraulic fracturing is alive in Pennsylvania. In a case of first impression in the state, on April 2, the Superior Court held that hydraulic fracturing under the land of an adjoining property may create an...more
Riddle: What’s the difference between a hydrocarbon molecule and the underground structure which the molecule inhabits? Answer: In Texas, you can own one and not the other, according to Lightning Oil Co. v. Anadarko E&P...more