On June 7, 2017, Carmen Alvarez filed a Class and Collective Action Complaint with the District Court of New Jersey against her former employer, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., for failing to pay her overtime as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act […]
No Texas Court has considered whether a written offer to enter into a loan modification satisfies the requirement under Texas law—known as the statute of frauds—that all loan agreements over $50,000 must be in writing and signed by the party to be […]
Unemployment is low and the job market is currently tight. In this environment, talented employees are in high demand. Your best and brightest employees could jump ship for "greener pastures." If your industry is highly competitive, the loss of talent […]
Last week, the Supreme Court “giveth and taketh away” in a case involving the sale of a ranch, critically including subsurface mineral interests. Specifically, in Kinsel v. Lindsey, the Court clarified that it has not recognized a cause of action […]
In the latest episode of our energy law podcast: the Eighth Circuit makes it easier for plaintiffs to take fracing contamination claims to trial; the Texas Supreme Court rules on the validity of county-wide mineral conveyances; and the Oklahoma Supreme […]
For the second Friday in a row, the Texas Supreme Court has issued a watershed decision with sweeping implications for the oil-and-gas industry. Last week, the Court ruled that offsite penetration—horizontal drilling across one tract to reach a second […]
With schools across the country about to wrap up for the year, many teenagers will be looking for jobs to earn some extra spending money or keep themselves occupied this summer. And many employers--in particular restaurants, retail establishments, hospitality […]
Featured in this week’s episode of our energy law podcast: the Texas Supreme Court issues new guidance for noise-and-pollution claims in the oil patch, as well as a landmark opinion on subsurface mineral trespass; Colorado energy regulators ask […]
In a case that has been closely watched in the oil-and-gas industry, yesterday the Texas Supreme Court decided whether drilling through a mineral estate—one which is not under lease by the driller—to access a reservoir beneath a bordering tract constitutes […]
In Ocwen Loan Servicing v. Robert M. Berry, the Fifth Circuit vacated and remanded a summary judgment granted in favor of Ocwen Loan Servicing ("Ocwen") in relation to a Texas home equity loan. In 2007, Robert Berry took out a home equity loan with […]
In Texas, all state agencies effectively have an "expiration date": each is periodically abolished, by operation of law, unless the Legislature passes a bill to extend its existence. Established in 1977, the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission evaluates […]
The first four months of 2017 have been chock full of major developments in the law surrounding oil and gas, and we have been reporting on them regularly in our podcast, Energy Law Round Up. Today, we bring you a convenient summary of everything that […]