In Bowden v. Phillips Petroleum Co., No. 03-0824 (Feb. 15, 2008), the Texas Supreme Court again addressed the propriety of class actions for gas royalty claims. The class affirmed the denial of two subclasses, but reversed the denial of a third subclass of royalty claimaints. The Court followed its prior holding in Yzaguirre in
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OCS Lease Expiration: MMS Denial of Suspension of Operations Upheld
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Offshore
A recent Interior Board of Land Appeals (“IBLA”) ruling, ATP Oil & Gas Corp., 173 IBLA 250 (2008), affirms an MMS denial of a Suspension of Operations (“SOO”) where the lessee submitted an revised exploration plan (“EP”) and permit to drill (“APD”) just days before the lease’s 10-year primary term…
Preferential Rights Decision From Texas Courts
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Contracts
By Jana Grauberger
and Anna Knull
In Navasota Resources, L.P. v. First Source Texas, Inc., No. 10-06-00236-CV, 2008 WL 90444 (Tex. App.-Waco Jan. 9, 2008), the issue presented was whether the preferential right in a Joint Operating Agreement was triggered when working interests subject to the JOA were to be sold along with other interests not subject to the agreement. In this
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Court Addresses Sufficiency of Demand Letter Under Mineral Code Articles 212.21-23
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Royalty
In CLK Company, L.L.C. v. CXY Energy, Inc., No. 07-834, 2007 WL 4409686 (La. App. 3d Cir. 12/19/07), the court addressed the payment of royalties and penalties under Mineral Code article 212.23(c) and concluded that plaintiff’s letters were insufficient to trigger the provisions of that article. In CLK Company, the parties entered …
Res Judicata Bars Relitigation of 1938 Buras Levee District Lease’s Validity
By Liskow & Lewis on
On November 21, 2007, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling in favor of Chevron U.S.A., Inc. (“Chevron”), the Plaquemines Parish Government (“PPG”), and others in a dispute with the State of Louisiana over the validity of a 1938 mineral lease granted by the Buras Levee District (“BLD”). The State…
Pipeline Right of Way
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Pipeline
By Katie Caswell
In Rose v. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., plaintiff, owner of an undivided interest in property across which Defendant Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. (“TGP”) held a pipeline “easement” or “right of way” obtained in an expropriation proceeding, appealed from the district court’s dismissal of her claims against TGP as time barred by…
Recovery of Damages for Lost Production
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Energy & Natural Resources
By April Rolen-Ogden
In Mayne & Mertz, Inc. v. Excalibur, et al., the issue presented was whether damages for loss of a lease opportunity were too speculative to survive summary judgment. The case involved a claim for misappropriation of trade secrets, in this case seismic data. The landowner, Excalibur, received the data but was required to…
Federal Court Upholds Mandatory Deep Water Royalty Relief
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Offshore
On October 30, 2007, the Federal District Court for the Western District of Louisiana granted summary judgment in favor of Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas Corporation in a dispute between Kerr-McGee and the Department of the Interior over the enforceability of "price threshold" clauses that Interior inserted into deep water leases granted during…
Court of Appeal Rejects Plaintiff’s Fraud Claim
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Contracts
In Martin v. JKD Investmens, LLC, the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit, rejected a plaintiff’s fraud claim because the plaintiff had failed to read the contract that he signed which transferred the mineral rights on his property to JKD Investments, LLC ("JKD").
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In Martin, the plaintiff…
Employee Lacked Personal Liability for Oilfield Environmental Damage Under Louisiana Law
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Environmental
By Kindall James
The issue of whether an individual employee is personally liable for oilfield environmental damages was recently addressed in Kling Realty Co., Inc. v. Texaco, Inc, 2007 WL 81665 (W.D. La. 2007). The plaintiff mineral lessors claimed that their property had been damaged by oilfield operations, and sued not only the operator, but also …