Three amicus briefs have been filed in support of the Hyders, opposing Chesapeake’s motion for rehearing of the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Chesapeake v. Hyder. An amicus brief was filed by the City of Fort Worth and others who have filed suits against Chesapeake and Total to recover additional…
The Texas Supreme Court asked the Hyders to respond to Chesapeake’s motion for rehearing in Chesapeake v. Hyder, after the court’s recent 5-4 decision in favor of the Hyders. Several amicus briefs (“friend of the court” briefs by entities not parties to the case) were filed in support of Chesapeake’s…
A federal judge in Dallas has ruled that Chesapeake cannot deduct post-production costs on the Plaintiffs’ leases covering lands in Tarrant and Johnson Counties, in the Barnett shale. The order can be viewed here: Winscott – Order on MSJs The case is Trinity Valley School, et al. vs. Chesapeake Operating,…
Chesapeake is spending a lot of money on lawyers. Dan McDonald, a Fort Worth attorney, has filed some 250 cases against Chesapeake contending that it is underpaying its royalty owners. Companies affiliated with former House of Representatives Speaker Tom Craddick have now been added to McDonald’s client list. So many…
The Texas Supreme Court has ruled 5 to 4 that Chesapeake cannot deduct post-production costs from the Hyder family’s gas royalties. The case in the Supreme Court actually addresses only the Hyders’ overriding royalty. As part of the Hyders’ oil and gas lease, the Hyders agreed that Chesapeake could use…
Last November, the Texas General Land Office lost its appeal in Commissioner v. SandRidge Energy, Inc., in the El Paso Court of Appeals. For the first time, a court has ruled that a lessee can deduct post-production costs under the Texas General Land Office’s Relinquishment Act lease form, citing Heritage…
A team of lawyers in Pennsylvania has filed an anti-trust suit against Chesapeake and Williams Partners (Formerly Access Midstream Partners) alleging that they conspired to restrain trade in the market for gas gathering services in and around Bradford County, Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs also sued Anadarko, Statoil, and Mitsui, all of…
As I have written, Chesapeake has asked the Texas Supreme Court to reverse the San Antonio Court of Appeals’ decision in Chesapeake v. Hyder. The court of appeals ruled that Chesapeake could not deduct post-production costs from the Hyders’ royalty. The Texas Land & Mineral Owners’ Association and the National…
Chesapeake has asked the Texas Supreme Court to hear its appeal of Chesapeake v. Hyder, decided by the San Antonio Court of Appeals in March of this year. The Supreme Court has asked the parties to file briefs on the merits, and Chesapeake filed its brief last week. Although the…
Last month I wrote about two cases recently decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in which Chesapeake defeated royalty owners’ efforts to prevent it from reducing their royalties by deducting post-production costs. One of those cases is Potts v. Chesapeake. The plaintiffs in that case have…