Like the final season of ABC’s hit series Lost, the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion in Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. v. Hyder, No. 14-0302, was highly anticipated, but left many of us scratching our heads. The 5-4 decision, authored by Justice Hecht, is the latest in a series of cases from high courts across the
Contracts
Louisiana Supreme Court Denies Plaintiff’s Writ Application in a Move That Will Impact Oil & Gas Legacy Cases
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By: Joe Norman, Kelly Becker, James Lapeze, and Kathryn Gonski
Recently the Louisiana Supreme Court handed down a ruling that has significant implications on the oil and gas industry in the state. The Court denied the Plaintiff-landowner’s writ application which sought review of a Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal opinion that…
Supreme Court of Texas Clarifies How to Prove Lost Value
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On May 8, 2015, the Supreme Court of Texas held in Phillips v. Carlton Energy Group, LLC[1]/ that an expert witness’s pre-suit evaluations of a coal bed methane concession in Bulgaria and his and another expert’s opinion testimony at trial were too speculative to support a jury’s damage finding for…
Texas Supreme Court Holds JOA Exculpatory Clause Applicable to All Activities of Operator
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Posted in Contracts
The Texas Supreme Court distinguished several Texas appellate court decisions and held the exculpatory clause in a joint operating agreement (“JOA”) applicable not just to operational activities undertaken by the operator, but to all activities of the operator under the JOA. Reeder v. Wood County Energy, LLC, No. 10-0887, slip op.
Fifth Circuit holds purchase and sales agreement complies with Statute of Frauds
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Posted in Contracts
Preston Exploration Co., L.P. v. GSF, L.L.C., Cause No. 10-20599, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 1873 (5th Cir. Tex. Feb. 1, 2012)
The Fifth Circuit recently vacated a judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, holding that the lower court had improperly conflated “two distinct…
Texas case holds seller bound to terms of forged document
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Posted in Contracts
The Texas Court of Appeals for the Eleventh District of Eastland has recently held that a seller of an oil and gas property may be held to the terms of a forged purchase agreement if the seller properly signs an assignment that specifically incorporates the terms of the forged document. Raven …
Texas Court Upholds Lease Cancellation for Failure to Pay Shut-In Payments To Proper Party
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Posted in Contracts
By Kevin Connolly:
In Nitschke v. Circle Ridge Production, Inc., No. 12-09-00150CV, _____ S.W.3d ____ (Tex. App.—Tyler 5/5/2010), the Tyler Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law with respect to the termination of an oil and gas lease for failure to pay shut-in royalty payments to the…
U.S. Fifth Circuit Finds Contractual Claim Under JOA Not Impermissible “Collateral Attack”
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Posted in Contracts, Environmental
In EOG Resources Inc. v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., No. 09-30362, __ F.3d __ (5th Cir. 4/29/10), the Fifth Circuit reinstated EOG’s contractual claim against Chesapeake under the parties’ joint operating agreement (JOA). EOG claimed that Chesapeake had unilaterally drilled three wells in the parties’ pooled mineral leases in Bossier…
Texas Court Upholds Temporary Injunction, Finds Cash in Lieu of Bond Meets Statutory Requirements
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Posted in Contracts, Litigation
By Marie Carlisle:
The principle issue addressed in Adobe Oilfield Services v. Trilogy Operating, Inc., No. 11-09-00162-CV (Tex. App.—Eastland January 29, 2010), involves the granting of a temporary injunction to prevent the filing of liens against oil wells. Trilogy entered into contracts with Adobe to drill six wells. Trilogy paid Adobe’s invoices for the…
Federal Court Remands Mineral Lease Dispute for Lack of Evidence of Amount in Controversy
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Posted in Contracts
By Emma J. Hinnigan
In Sullivan v. Chesapeake Louisiana, L.P., 09-0579, 2009 WL 3735798 (W.D. La. Nov. 6, 2009), the Western District of Louisiana remanded a case seeking rescission of a mineral lease back to state court after the defendant failed to provide proof of the amount in controversy, namely the total value of the…