Texas Business Court Clarifies Amount-in-Controversy Standard for Saltwater Disposal Royalty Disputes

Black Mountain SWD sought remand of its breach of contract action against NGL Water Solutions Permian, arguing that unpaid royalties of $0.03 per barrel on 147,426,305 barrels of transported saltwater totaled only $4.5 million—below the Business Court's $10 million jurisdictional threshold. The Business Court granted remand, holding that the amount in controversy equals past damages for unpaid royalties actually sought, not the speculative lifetime value of the royalty agreement or any purported right to receive future payments.