After spending $22 million on some dry holes in North Texas, Barrow-Shaver Resources Co. jumped at a $27.7 million offer for its development rights. But one of 32 parties blew up the deal by asking $5 million for its approval. Now the Texas Supreme Court is being asked to resolve a question of industry use vs. oil and gas tradition. Janet Elliott explains.
SCOTX Endorses Arbitration – Yet Again
In yet another show of support for mandatory arbitration, the Texas Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that a duly assigned arbitrator has the power to decide a dispute, even when it involves conflicting court orders. The Lawbook’s Janet Elliott explains.
SCOTX To Decide Fate of $8M Jury Verdict For Astros Owner
When Houston Astros owner Jim Crane and another investor bought a new aircraft for $19.85 million in 2010, they apparently expected it to be…well, new. When they discovered two years later it had been equipped with a used left engine with a troubled history, they sued. Now the SCOTX is weighing whether the evidence supports their $8M verdict.
Rowlett Condemnation Case Tests Post-Kelo Statute
Amid a flurry of amicus briefs from property rights advocates, business groups and municipal planners, the Texas Supreme Court heard arguments last week in an eminent domain dispute from Rowlett. The case is a test of a Texas statute designed to protect private property rights following Kelo v. City of New London.
Justice Fund Spotlights Phil Johnson, Veterans
AUSTIN – Vietnam veteran Phil Johnson was in mid-career as a military pilot when a distinguished law career intervened. These days, however, the Texas Supreme Court jurist is focused on the legal needs of today’s military men and women, and those interests were noted last week at the annual Texas Access to Justice luncheon.
SCOTX Hears New Case Regarding Post-Production Deductions
For nine years Burlington Resources deducted post-production costs from royalties paid to Amber Harvest for development in the Eagle Ford. Then came the 2015 Chesapeake v. Hyder decision, and now Amber Harvest is asking SCOTX to make Burlington reimburse them. Janet Elliott details their arguments before the court.
Finally, SCOTX Settles ‘Jarndyce v. Jarndyce’
A 46-year-old property tax case was finally settled by the Texas Supreme Court. Their ruling in the inter-county dispute, often compared to Dickens’ famously epic litigation, was settled in favor of San Patricio County.
Latest Deepwater Horizon Case Brings Question of Insurance Limits for Defense Expense
The dispute involves high-risk surplus lines insurance commonly purchased by drillers, and is being closely watched for its impact on that market.
SCOTX Asked To Decide “Jarndyce v. Jarndyce” Boundary Dispute
Dale Wainwright stepped to the podium at the Texas Supreme Court on Monday, looked at his former colleague Nathan Hecht and made a simple request: End a dispute between two counties that’s beginning to resemble Jarndyce v. Jarndyce.
Yearning For Zion: A Massive Child Custody Case Remembered 10 Years After
Ten years ago, Carmen Dusek found herself square in the middle of the largest child custody case ever litigated. The case involved charges of child abuse and rape in a remote compound run fundamentalist religious sect run by Warren Jeffs whose Biblical beliefs included a particularly strident form of polygamy. The case came to include scores of lawyers who volunteered from afar to assure adequate legal representation for some 400 children. She recalls the pride and disappointment to Janet Elliott in The Texas Lawyer.
