Fifth Circuit Upholds Lease Grace Periods During COVID-19 Production Curtailments and Affirms Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction Over Lease-Termination Disputes

Fifth Circuit affirms that a 40-day cessation of production during the March 2020 COVID-19 oil price collapse did not terminate South Texas mineral leases under their express 120-day grace period, rejecting landowners' trespass and administrative expense claims in EP Energy's Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The panel held the bankruptcy court possessed core jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(B) to resolve underlying state-law lease-termination issues as part of the administrative expense determination.