As most operators are aware, the Texas Natural Resources Code requires payment of proceeds within a specific timeframe, but it also has a “safe harbor” provision that allows operators to suspend payment of proceeds when there is a (1) dispute concerning title that affects distribution of payments; or, (2) reasonable doubt about whether the payee […]

Van Dyke v. Navigator Group[1] concerns a dispute that has lasted a decade, as well as an issue that, for multiple decades, has plagued energy practitioners and fueled countless mineral ownership lawsuits: “the ‘double-fraction’ dilemma.” This use of two fractions is typically found in mineral conveyances drafted in the first half of the twentieth century. […]

Recently the Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case titled Point Energy Partners Permian, LLC, et al., v. MRC Permian Company, which is a review of an El Paso Court of Appeals’ decision regarding the interpretation of the force majeure clause contained in the litigants’ lease. The underlying facts are as follows: MRC […]