Close

Articles Posted in Recent Cases

Updated:

Ownership of Pore Space – North Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Protects Surface Owners’ Rights

Last week the Supreme Court of North Dakota handed down its opinion in Northwest Landowners Association v. State of North Dakota, 2022 ND 150. The court struck down portions of a statute passed by the North Dakota Legislature, Senate Bill 2344, dealing with ownership rights to “pore space.” North Dakota…

Updated:

Nettye Engler Energy v. Bluestone Natural Resources: Texas Supreme Court affirms ruling against royalty owner

Last week the Texas Supreme Court handed down its opinion in Nettye Engler Energy, LP v. Bluestone Natural Resources II, LLC, No. 20-0639, affirming the lower court’s ruling that Engler’s royalty interest bears its share of gas gathering and processing costs. Engler owns a royalty interest in a section of…

Updated:

Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Hlavinka v. HSC Pipeline – Important Eminent Domain Issues

The Texas Supreme Court agreed to decide Hlavinka v. HSC Pipeline, about which I have written before. The Court’s summary of the issues: The primary issues in this case are whether (1) Texas law grants eminent domain authority to a pipeline owner shipping polymer grade propylene; (2) a pipeline shipping…

Updated:

Two Texas Federal District Courts Weigh In On Post-Production Costs

Two recent decisions from two federal judges in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, dismissed suits alleging class actions against Apache and Hilcorp for failure to pay royalties on gas used in gas processing plants. Both construed identical lease provisions. In Carl v. Hilcorp Energy, No. 4:21-CV-02133, Judge Keith…

Contact Us