Force Majeure is a civil law concept (French for “superior force”), but in U.S. law it is largely a creature of contract. Force majeure comes into play when “acts of God” or other extraordinary events prevent contractual performance.[1] In the […]
By now, the names Harvey and Irma have become synonymous with havoc and destruction. Aside from the devastating effects of these storms on personal property, they also caused businesses to grind to a halt. Flooding, loss of business inventory, irreparable […]
Gift cards from retailers, restaurants, and hospitality clients continue to be a growing aspect of the industry. In 2009, Congress passed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act which governs store gift cars, gift certificates […]
This week, KRCL's energy law podcast addresses the fiduciary obligations of the executive rights holder to non-executive mineral interest owners, as well as an important appellate decision about acreage retention clauses keyed off of proration […]
In a recent installment of Law360's "Expert Analysis" series, KRCL trial lawyer Tom Ciarlone explained why—as the U.S. oil and gas industry recovers from Hurricane Harvey—operators must also be aware that force majeure clauses, excusing nonperformance […]
The Seventh Court of Appeals in Amarillo has rejected a jury verdict in favor of Hunt Cimarron, in a hard-fought controversy over a West Texas mineral lease. The intermediate appellate court determined that the lease had come to an end by operation of […]
According to Money Magazine, 22 Retailers are on the verge of bankruptcy! The article cites a report released last week by Moody’s Investors Service that indicates ratings of Caa or worse—defined as “subject to very high credit risk”—to […]
While working a private event at a Hawaii hotel, Honolulu Police Department Officer Kinchung Chung intervened in a verbal disagreement involving a private security guard, Aaron Okura, and a patron, Dillon Bracken, who stepped over a rope to enter an […]
The Texas courts have continued to evaluate the nature and extent of liability that property owners have for the acts of independent contractors. As indicated in a new opinion from the Eastland Court of Appeals, this is highly relevant for owners, […]
A jury verdict out of Oklahoma may be a harbinger of what's on the horizon for the many battles being waged in courthouses across the country between operators of horizontal wells and the vertical drillers who say their wells have been damaged&mdash […]
A member of KRCL's Energy Practice Group, trial lawyer Tom Ciarlone, was the subject of the first installment of Law360's new "Expert Analysis" series, What I Learned In My First Year, featuring attorneys' true-life tales from the earliest days of […]
Late last week, the United States Supreme Court said that it erred when it granted certiorari to resolve a bankruptcy dispute over whether state or federal law should apply to the recharacterization of debt. In In re Province Grande Olde Liberty, […]