A Master Services Agreement (“MSA”) is a contract that outlines the terms and conditions under which a company agrees to provide services, goods, and/or equipment to a client. It serves as a foundational document that...more
Parkman v. W&T Offshore, Inc., et al features two contractors playing hot potato over liability for a company man’s alleged negligence. The takeaway: Write your Master Service Agreement to address your liability concerns, and...more
The outcome of a multimillion-dollar suit was in the hands of a jury of 12 good and honorable citizens. The question: Was a certain party an agent, consultant, contractor, or none of the above? One side wanted the jury to be...more
A liability clause operated as a single aggregate cap for all claims: Drax v Wipro. Wipro provided software services to Drax under a master services agreement. After a series of missed milestones, revised dates and delayed...more
Primary and excess insurance carriers and their counsel need to pay close attention to a new Texas Supreme Court case Exxon Mobil vs. National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and Starr Indemnity &...more
As you negotiate your master service agreements are you confident that you know how insurance choices might affect indemnity obligations? Me neither. That’s why I turn to my Gray Reed partner Darin Brooks and his insurance...more
Indemnity clauses are an integral tool used regularly in energy contracts and master service agreements. Indemnity is an obligation by one party to make another party whole for a loss or damage that the other party has...more
At issue in RKI Exploration and Production LLC v. AmeriFlow Energy Services LLC and Crescent Services, LLC. were two Master Service Agreements. RKI was the operator of a well in Loving County; AmeriFlow and Crescent were...more
For more than 20 years, the supply chain issues were relatively minor, and problems with obtaining goods using Just in Time logistics and lowest price models were few. Supply was ample and demand steady. The last two years...more
The Fifth Circuit’s opinion in Cimarex Energy Company, et al. v. CP Well Testing, L.L.C. will require oil and gas companies throughout the oil patch to review their form contracts, preexisting agreements and liability...more
Let’s begin with a question: Master service agreements (“MSA’s” in the trade), once agreed upon, often remain in force for years. As time passes and circumstances change, the parties amend, sometimes losing sight of the...more
In Texas, most Master Service Agreements related to the oil and gas industry provide indemnities based on who or what was injured rather than who caused the injury. For example, the standard knock-for-knock indemnity will...more
You signed a deal with the US subsidiary of an India-based service provider, and the Indian parent issued a guaranty. Several years later, you are now amending the original master services agreement (MSA) to add to the scope...more
Lessons from BEPCO, L.P. v. RMTDC Operations, LLC d/b/a Total Energy Services. Operator BEPCO hired TOTAL for drilling consultant services under an MSA and hired Latshaw Drilling to drill a well on federal land in New Mexico....more
Our sympathies go out to those in the oilfield services industry in Texas—it looks like you got a lump of coal. In Mesa Southern CWS Acquisition v. Deep Energy Exploration Partners the Houston Court of Appeals upended the...more
The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston recently issued an opinion that will have profound impacts on mineral liens and contractual provisions purporting to waive mineral liens. The question of whether or not a pre-work...more
Did Texas law or New Mexico law apply to knock-for-knock indemnity provisions of a Master Work and Services Agreement? When a contract itself explicitly calls for Texas law, that is likely to be the outcome, as it was in...more
Retailers often use master service agreements (“MSAs”) to repeatedly contract for the same services. MSAs spell out most but not all of the terms between the parties. ...more
All types of business from startups to multinational conglomerates regularly enter into service agreements for the procurement and delivery of products or services. Depending upon the size and complexity of the agreement, the...more