Legislative Update: Texas’ Pandemic Liability Protection Act (PLPA)
On June 14, 2021, Governor Abbott signed the Pandemic Liability Protection Act (“PLPA”) into law, effective immediately. The PLPA protects businesses from liability for claims arising from exposure to SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)—including claims made by employees—and applies retroactively to all unadjudicated claims commenced on or after March 13, 2020. The act will remain in effect until such time as any disaster declaration relating to the pandemic is terminated. ... Read More
Legislative Update: SB 1259
On May 24, 2021, Governor Abbott signed SB 1259 into law, effective immediately. The bill was introduced by the state legislature in response to the Texas Supreme Court’s 2017 decision in ConocoPhillips v. Koopmann, in which the Court held that the Texas division order statute did not prevent a royalty owner from bringing a common law breach of contract claim against a... Read More
Caselaw Update: Royalty Checks and Implied Ratification
Under contract law generally, a party who has not expressly accepted an agreement can nevertheless be deemed to have impliedly accepted, or ratified it, by their actions. For example, a party may imply their acceptance of a contract by accepting the benefits they would receive under its terms. This principle also translates to oil and gas agreements. In Hooks v Samson Lone Star, the Texas Supreme Court held that a lessor’s acceptance of... Read More
Lease Washouts
Lease washouts occur when operators release or allow a current lease to expire in order to get a “clean slate.” These “clean slates” take the form of a new lease that may increase net revenue interest (NRI) and/or do away with undesirable prior lease burdens and provisions. Not only is lease washout permissible in Texas, but it is usually given great deference by Texas courts. It may seem perplexing to some that an operator can intentionally washout lease burdens such as an overriding royalty interest (ORRI) or... Read More
Hey! That’s Not Yours! Collecting on Liens and Judgments: Part 3
Mineral Liens In Parts 1 and 2 of this series, we considered the tools available to enforce judgments in Texas, as well as the ways in which a foreign judgment may be domesticated and enforced in the state. In our final installment, we will consider the mineral lien: a method by which a mineral contractor or subcontractor can collect... Read More
Hey! That’s Not Yours! Collecting on Liens and Judgments: Part 2
Domesticating Foreign Judgments In Part 1 of this series, we covered some of the tools available to judgment-creditors in Texas seeking to enforce and collect a money judgment. What if you obtain a judgment in another state? Once the foreign judgment has been domesticated, the judgment creditor can use any method of collection or enforcement applicable to a Texas judgment. ... Read More
Hey! That’s Not Yours! Collecting on Liens and Judgments Part 1
Part 1: Enforcing Judgments in Texas So you’ve successfully obtained a judgment against a debtor. Now what? After investigating and locating the debtor’s assets via formal discovery or informal methods like database searches, a judgment-creditor can develop a plan for enforcement and collection. There are several tools a judgment-creditor can employ to collect on a judgment. Absent an agreement for payment between the judgment-creditor and... Read More
Recent Travis County Case Impacts the Future of Allocation Wells
Caselaw Update: Opiela v. Railroad Commission of Texas Over the past decade, allocation wells have become both more common and more highly contested in Texas. Allocation wells straddle the borders between multiple tracts or units which are unpooled, but typically under development by the same operator. They are usually employed when more production may be gained by drilling one horizontal well along a boundary rather than separate wells... Read More
Estate Planning Part 4: Digital Assets
Almost everyone owns some form of digital asset, and the law governing estate planning for these unique assets is still developing. A digital asset is defined as “an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest”, (1) and includes cryptocurrency, domain names, email accounts, online banking accounts, anything stored on the cloud, and social media accounts. (2) The list is not exclusive – the term “electronic... Read More
Estate Planning Part 3: Intestate Succession
In Part Two of this series, we considered some of the main tools used in estate planning, including wills and trusts, which serve to protect an estate and ensure distribution according to a decedent’s wishes. But what happens when a person dies without a will? When a person dies intestate, the distribution of their estate is governed by state law. Personal property is... Read More