News & Analysis as of

Oil & Gas Negligence

Gray Reed

Broad Form Indemnities in Construction Contracts (UPDATED)

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Broad form indemnities are common in Texas construction contracts, even though indemnifying someone for their own negligence is a tough pill to swallow.  ...more

Gray Reed

Retail Electricity Customers Denied Relief from Uri

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In re Luminant Generation Company LLC et al is a bitter pill for the litigation hangover from Winter Storm Uri. Takeaway: Texas does not recognize a legal duty owed by wholesale power generators to retail customers to provide...more

Gray Reed

Who is responsible for the negligence of the “company man” on the well?

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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

Gray Reed

Louisiana Oilfield Settlement Agreement Fails to Release Non-Party

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Most states call it a third-party beneficiary contract. Leave it to Louisiana to be different. In Adams v. Chevron USA Inc., the plaintiffs claimed that oilfield pipe-cleaning activities of Chevron and others contaminated...more

Goldberg Segalla

Oregon’s Multnomah County Sues Fossil Fuel Companies Seeking $50M for Purported “Heat Dome” Heatwaves

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Oregon’s most populous county, and home to Portland, sued more than a dozen oil, gas, and coal companies for over $50 million in damages related to a 2021 “heat dome” the county alleges was caused by the defendants’...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Oregon County Sues Fossil Fuel Companies and Consulting Firm For Damages Related to 2021 ‘Heat Dome’

In a civil suit filed in Oregon state court in June 2023, an Oregon county is suing more than a dozen large oil, gas and coal companies, seeking more than $50 million in damages, in connection with a 2021 “heat dome” and...more

Adams and Reese LLP

The Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies Defense Takes Another Hit

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The Supreme Court of Mississippi recently held in Tiger Production Company, LLC v. Pace, 2021-IA-00315-SCT, 2022 WL 11555295 (October 20, 2022) that surface owners are not necessarily required to exhaust administrative...more

Gray Reed

Louisiana Legacy Lawsuit Survives Motion to Dismiss

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Withrow v. Chevron is another Louisiana legacy lawsuit, this one claiming that defendants Chevron and Vernon E. Faulconer, Inc., and their predecessors, improperly disposed of toxic and hazardous oilfield wastes in unlined...more

Gray Reed

Texas Court Addresses MSA Indemnity Obligations

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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

Rivkin Radler LLP

Insurance Update - July 2022

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Our July Insurance Update is here. This is what we discuss. “Hoosier” daddy? When a Little Daddy’s bouncer chased a drunk patron from Big Daddy’s parking lot, who knew it would lead to the Indiana Supreme Court...more

Gray Reed

Landowners Vanquished by the Discovery Rule

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Is it worth spending extra dollars, days, and windshield time to discover what mischief your oil and gas operator might be making on your property? The landowner-plaintiffs in Mustafa v. Americo Energy would certainly say so....more

Gray Reed

Operator Escapes Liability For a Gas Kick and Resulting Fire

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The Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code, Chapter 95, limits a property owner’s liability when an independent contractor hired to construct, repair, renovate or modify an improvement to the owner’s property brings a...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Alberta Court of Appeal Considers Claim of Pure Economic Loss

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The Alberta Court of Appeal recently considered the latest Supreme Court of Canada decision on pure economic loss in a decision involving a proposed class action for damages related to a pipeline spill. In its decision, the...more

Gray Reed

Stray Cows and Oilfield Operations Do Not Play Well Together

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Foote and Cypert v. Texcel Exploration and Decker determined that cattle loitering uninvited around a well and tank battery are trespassers, not licensees. How it happened - Foote arranged with Yates to graze 650 head...more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

Oil Contamination/Remediation: New York Court Considers Potential Liability of Insurance Company/Environmental Consultant

The New York Supreme Court – Appellate Division (Second Department) (“Court”) addressed in an October 20th Decision & Order (“Decision”) alleged damages associated with the remediation of oil contamination. See Bennett v....more

Robinson+Cole Environmental Law +

Court Denies Class Certification in Illinois Oil Spill Case

On October 5, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois denied the plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification in Morr v. Plains All American Pipeline, LLC 2021 WL 4478660 (S.D. Illinois,...more

The Volkov Law Group

Pipeline Company Pays $35 Million to Settle Criminal and Civil Environmental Violations for Inland Spill of Oil Drilling Generated...

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In a significant environmental crime enforcement action, the Justice Department resolved criminal charges under the Clean Water Act against Summit Midstream Partners LLC, a North Dakota pipeline company that discharged 29...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Fifth Circuit's Seaman Status Realignment Brings New Considerations for Offshore Oil & Gas and Wind Industry Operators

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Since the enactment of the Jones Act, courts have wrestled to define "seaman" and who is entitled to remedies under the Jones Act. The Jones Act grants a "seaman" a negligence cause of action against his employer and only a...more

Gray Reed

What is “Willful Misconduct” in Texas and Louisiana?

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Apache Corporation v. Castex Offshore Inc. et al, answers the question, What constitutes willful misconduct in oil field operations? This was a breach of contract suit involving operator Apache and non-operator Castex....more

Gray Reed

The Oil Producer and Premises Liability During Covid-19

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Let’s set aside fracking challenges, low prices, and pipeline rejections to discuss the mundane. Should you as an owner of property be concerned about premises liability claims? We’re talking about the office environment and...more

Pillsbury - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real...

Environmental Roundup – May 2019

Federal Courts of Appeal - Dam Claims Collapse - On May 7, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided the case of Navelski, et al. v. International Paper Company....more

A&O Shearman

Southern District Of Texas Dismisses Putative Class Action Against Oil And Gas Exploration Company For Failure To Adequately...

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On March 13, 2019, Judge Lee H. Rosenthal of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted a motion to dismiss claims under Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5...more

Bennett Jones LLP

When Is It Too Late to Sue for Environmental Contamination? The ABCA Rules

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On February 6, 2019, the Alberta Court of Appeal (ABCA) released its first ever decision on section 218 of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA), which may extend limitation periods applicable to...more

Gray Reed

Asserting a Losing Title Claim Isn’t (Always) Tortious

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In Texas losing a title dispute doesn’t mean you committed myriad heinous torts by asserting your rights in the first place. The test: Were you reasonable in bringing your colorable but not correct claim? So says Dorfman v. J...more

Gray Reed

Are Oilfield Contractors Liable For Road Damage?

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No, at least not in Dimmit County, Texas, under the facts of In Re: Wood Group PSN, Inc. et al. Twenty-nine contractors and producers were sued by Dimmitt County for damaging a 6.9 mile long non-asphalt county road by their...more

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