First Court Affirms $23.5 Million Lost Profit Award in Water Supply Exclusivity Dispute

The Houston First Court of Appeals affirmed a $23,560,541.20 jury verdict awarding lost profits to a water supplier after Equinor breached an exclusivity provision by purchasing water from competing suppliers for its oil and gas wells. The court held that a contractual bar on consequential, indirect, or special damages—including lost profits—did not preclude recovery of direct lost profit damages measured by the benefit-of-the-bargain standard.