Acknowledgment of Debt Tolls Statute of Limitations in Gas Royalty Nonpayment Case

The San Antonio Court of Appeals held that a lessee's letter and production charts acknowledging $22,268.20 in unpaid gas royalties from 1987-1995 created an implied promise to pay that tolled the four-year statute of limitations under Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 16.065. The court rejected Bright & Company's counterclaim for offset based on alleged overpayments during a different time period, finding it was an untimely counterclaim rather than an affirmative defense that would negate the lessor's right to recover.