Posts By: Rachel

Case Law Updates: Apache Corp. v. Apollo Expl., LLC

Apache Corp. v. Apollo Expl., L.L.C. No. 21-0587, 66 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 744, (2023 Tex.) (Apr. 2023) This Texas Supreme Court case involves a dispute concerning the termination date of a particular oil and gas lease included in Purchase Sale Agreements (“PSAs”) between Apache Corporation, as buyer, and Apollo Exploration, L.L.C., et al. as… Read more »

Case Law Updates: Devon Energy Prod. Co., L.P. v. Sheppard

Devon Energy Prod. Co., L.P. v. Sheppard 643 S.W.3d. (Tex. App. 2020), aff’d, (Tex. Mar. 10, 2023) This Texas Supreme Court case involved a royalty calculation dispute between landowners and producers in the Eagle Ford Shale. The parties agree that the landowners’ royalty is free of costs and expenses between the wellhead and the point… Read more »

Helix Energy Sols. Grp., Inc. v. Hewitt

Helix Energy Sols. Grp., Inc. v. Hewitt 142 S. Ct. 2674 (2022) The United States Supreme Court has clarified that even highly compensated employees qualify for overtime pay if they charge a daily rate rather than a fixed salary. In this case, an offshore oil rig employee, Michael Hewitt, filed suit to collect overtime pay… Read more »

Antero Res. Corp. v. Airport Land Partners, Ltd.

Antero Res. Corp. v. Airport Land Partners, Ltd. 2023 CO 13 In this case, the Colorado Supreme Court analyzed the meaning of a “bona fide dispute over the interpretation of a contract.” After a dispute arose between Antero Resources Corporation (“Antero”) and royalty owners alleging underpaid royalties in violation of their lease contracts, the court considered whether the Colorado Oil… Read more »

Trouble in PSA Paradise: How to Get Your Company Out of a Termination Bind

Trouble in PSA Paradise: How to Get Your Company Out of a Termination Bind written by Miranda Caballero You have been negotiating back and forth with another party to purchase assets after signing a Purchase and Sale Agreement (“PSA”). However, after conducting some due diligence, you realized things were not as they seemed, and now you… Read more »

Managing Termination Tug-of-War Under an MSA

Managing Termination Tug-of-War Under an MSA written by Matt Reynolds A Master Service Agreement (“MSA”) is an umbrella agreement governing the rights and obligations of both the party requesting service and the vendor that provides it, for any number of projects that they jointly agree to undertake. Due to its comprehensive scope and wide-ranging applicability… Read more »

Important Company Considerations in Contractor and Employee Termination

Important Company Considerations in Contractor and Employee Termination written by Andrew Clinton Few situations are as naturally adversarial as the termination of the independent contractor and employee relationships. As a general rule, federal and state law provide some basic parameters for unlawful termination for discriminatory purposes or other prohibited reasons, such as whistleblower or employee… Read more »

Terminating a Contract: I’ll Be Back?

Terminating a Contract: I’ll Be Back? written by Andrew Clinton Terminating a contract, whether a lease, letter of intent, purchase and sale agreement, or employment contract, represents a potentially frustrating milestone in the negotiation process. Regardless of your position or whether you are the party seeking to terminate, the usual laundry list of questions centers… Read more »