Everything You Need to Know About Oil and Gas Law—2Q17 Edition

Earlier this year, we brought you our first quarter update on major developments in oil and gas law in Texas and throughout the country. Now, we are back with our second quarter update.

We began 2Q17 with a discussion of the intersection of the oil patch with class actions and the Fair Labor Standards Act; the federal government’s liability for the environmental cleanup of refinery waste; and a shortsighted discovery ruling that could have left the Dakota Access pipeline vulnerable to terrorist attacks:[iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/215647943" width="640" height="523" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen>]

Then we got you up to speed on fracing rules for federal and tribal lands and dialed you into several new developments out of the Texas Supreme Court—including a little-known pitfall that could get your well damage case dismissed with prejudice:[iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/219407025" width="640" height="523" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen>]

After that, we detailed the Texas Supreme Court’s new guidance for noise-and-pollution claims in the oil patch, as well as a landmark opinion on subsurface mineral trespass; reported that Colorado energy regulators asked their state’s high court to clarify their responsibilities; brought you news of another federal court striking down an oil-and-gas class action for lack of common facts; and discussed the outcome of the Texas Railroad Commission’s Sunset review:[iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/219407014" width="640" height="523" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen>]

At the end of May, we discussed how the Eighth Circuit made it easier for plaintiffs to take fracing contamination claims to trial; the Texas Supreme Court ruled on the validity of county-wide mineral conveyances; and the Oklahoma Supreme Court was wrestling with the often vexing “marketable product” rule for post-production expense deductions:[iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/219407000" width="640" height="523" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen>]

In June, we broke the news that your non-solicitation agreement with your employees in the oil patch might have been gutted by a new decision from a Texas court of appeals. Guest host and employment lawyer Andrea Johnson interviewed Bruce Morris—one of the nation’s leading authorities on trade secrets—about the shifting state of the law and ways you can ensure that your company is protected:[iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/222181615" width="640" height="523" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen>]

At the end of June, we addressed multiple decisions that came out of the Texas Supreme Court that can directly impact your operations in the oil patch, as well as one of the first jury verdicts addressing the increasing trend of mineral lessors challenging the deduction from their royalties of affiliate fees for post-production transportation and processing:[iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/223270228" width="640" height="523" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen>]

And, most recently, we returned from a brief hiatus for the Independence Day holiday with a brief summary of the legal developments in oil-and-gas law that July had brought us up to that point:[iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/225026773" width="640" height="523" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen>]

Stay tuned for new episodes of our energy law podcast—or, better yet, subscribe today on iTunes or Google Play.