In October 2025, a district court in Cameron Parish granted a challenge brought by environmental justice groups who sought to vacate a coastal use permit (CUP) issued by the Office of Coastal Management (OCM) for the construction of an LNG facility. In granting petitioners’ challenge, the district court primarily cited OCM’s failure to analyze climate
A new lawsuit filed in Crane County, Texas claims that operators have over injected produced water causing contamination on a West Texas ranch. See Billy Wayne Meister Jr. v. Blackbeard Operating, LLC et al., Cause No. 25-052-DCCV-00098, in the 109th Judicial District of Crane County, Texas. According to the petition, injection wells on and around
The United States Supreme Court is currently presented with what many believe is the best opportunity for the Court to provide sorely needed guidance in the vastly growing climate change docket—where energy companies are facing liability for injuries allegedly sustained due to greenhouse gas emissions. In Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc., et al. v. County Commissioners
A newly filed class action in the Western District of Washington advances a novel theory of greenwashing liability by suggesting that rising homeowners-insurance premiums are tied to alleged decades of climate deception by major fossil-fuel companies. See Kennedy & Hazard v. Exxon Mobil Corp. et al., Case No. 2:25-cv-02378. According to the complaint, extreme weather
In late October 2025, a Paris civil court handed down a decision that could reshape how global energy companies discuss their efforts in climate transition. The court ruled that an energy company misled consumers through a 2021 rebranding campaign where the company promised to be “a major player in the
In late October 2025, Exxon Mobil Corporation filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California, launching a major constitutional and regulatory challenge to California’s landmark climate disclosure regime. The company’s lawsuit targets two statutes enacted in 2023: Senate Bill 253—the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act, and Senate
While several bills were considered that would restructure the state’s severance tax scheme on oil and gas during Louisiana’s 2025 regular legislative session, three bills aimed to stimulate drilling activity and attract jobs in the energy sector were passed and sent to Governor Jeff Landry for his signature.
Continue Reading Louisiana Severance Tax Law Changes – A Win for Oil & Gas
In Corbello v. Iowa Prod. Co., 850 So. 2d 686 (La. 2003), the Louisiana Supreme Court recognized a “loophole” in the law where a landowner was allowed to recover millions in remediation damages for oilfield contamination without any requirement that the money be used for actual restoration.
Continue Reading Legislation Takes Aim at “Legacy Lawsuits”
As previously described in The Energy Law Blog, Arkansas is unlike several of its neighboring states in that it already has a robust body of law governing the extraction of minerals from brine. The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission oversees brine production and sets the applicable royalty rates to which landowners are entitled.
Continue Reading Smackover Lithium Update: Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission Sets Hearing to Fix Lithium Royalty Rate
The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit against 18 oil and gas companies. The lawsuit arose from the sudden death of oysters in Plaquemines Parish, which plaintiffs, a group of about 30 oyster fishermen, alleged were the result of a release of produced water and brine—frequent byproducts of oil and gas operations.
Continue Reading Failure to Allege Plausible Arguments Against Oil and Gas Companies Proves Costly as the Fifth Circuit Dismissed Oyster Mortality Case