We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Attempting to reconnect
Pipeline & Easement
Federal Court Denies Dismissal of Maritime Negligence Claims Against Pipeline Contractor for Alleged Oyster Lease Damage in Galveston Bay
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
Oyster lease owners in Galveston Bay survived a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss their maritime negligence and trespass claims against Florida Gas Transmission Company and its contractor Sunland Construction, alleging pipeline repair operations deposited sediment and spoil materials that damaged oyster beds and reefs. The Southern District of Texas found the complaint provided sufficient fair notice despite defendants' arguments that allegations lacked specificity regarding which vessels and dates caused the alleged damage.
Texas Supreme Court Reverses $6.1 Million Pipeline Breach Award, Holds Courts Impermissibly Blue-Penciled Force Majeure Provision
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
The Texas Supreme Court reversed a $6,145,215.89 judgment against American Midstream, holding that the trial court and Court of Appeals impermissibly blue-penciled extra words into a firm transportation agreement's force majeure provision excusing performance when a connected pipeline owner requested balancing of receipts and deliveries. The Court further held that Rainbow Energy's use of the transportation agreement to fulfill forward sales contracts without corresponding forward supply constituted a speculative venture for which lost profits could not be recovered.
First Court Applies Section 95.003 Liability Shield to Utility Easements, Reversing $15.4 Million Contractor Injury Verdict
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
The Houston First Court of Appeals reversed a $15,466,597 jury verdict against CenterPoint Energy, holding that Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 95.003's heightened actual-knowledge standard applies to injuries sustained by independent contractor employees working on transmission poles located on utility easements. The court determined that public utility easements constitute "real property" and transmission poles are "improvements to real property" within the statute's scope, shielding property owners from common-law negligence liability absent actual knowledge of the dangerous condition.
Lampasas County Jury Awards $7 Million in Pipeline Condemnation—330 Times Matterhorn's Offer—Highlighting Severance Damage Valuation Disputes
Joel Reese | Jul 14, 2026
A Lampasas County jury awarded approximately $7 million to Artemis Ranch owners after Matterhorn Express Pipeline condemned a half-mile easement across their 4,000-acre eco-tourism property, rejecting the pipeline company's $21,000 final offer in a verdict 330 times higher. The April 2026 award highlights the substantial gap that can emerge between pipeline companies' compensation offers and jury valuations in condemnation proceedings involving properties with specialized commercial operations.
Supreme Court to Resolve Circuit Split on Attorney's Fee Recovery in Natural Gas Act Eminent Domain Proceedings
Joel Reese | Jul 14, 2026
The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve a circuit split over whether the Fifth Amendment or state law governs compensation—including attorney's fees—when interstate pipeline companies exercise federal eminent domain authority under the Natural Gas Act. The Eighth Circuit's exclusion of $383,000 in attorney's fees awarded under North Dakota law to landowners directly conflicts with Third, Fifth, Sixth, and Eleventh Circuit precedent permitting state-law fee recovery in Natural Gas Act condemnation proceedings.
Bexar County Court Enters $393M Judgment Enforcing Winter Storm Uri Spot Contracts Against Unconscionability Defense
Joel Reese | Jul 14, 2026
Bexar County District Court entered a $393 million judgment against CPS Energy for unpaid natural gas invoices stemming from fixed-price spot contracts executed during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, comprising $263 million in principal, $119 million in contract interest accrued since early 2021, and $9.3 million in attorney fees. The court rejected CPS's unconscionability defense, holding that sophisticated commercial parties cannot avoid performance under spot market contracts negotiated during crisis pricing conditions—the largest Uri gas-pricing judgment reported to date.
Seventh Circuit: Pipeline Easement Challenges Require Breach of Express Terms, Not Mere Reasonableness Arguments
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Trunkline Gas Company, holding that a landowner challenging pipeline maintenance activities bears the burden of demonstrating breach of the easement's express terms, not merely that proposed repairs are unreasonable or unnecessary. Close Armstrong failed to create a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether Trunkline's pipeline maintenance fell within the scope of the easement agreement's operation and maintenance provisions.
Fort Worth Court Reverses JOA Breach Finding: Operator's Failure to Invoice Precludes Recovery for Statutory Lien Expenses
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
The Fort Worth Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's finding that CL III breached a joint operating agreement by acquiring and foreclosing a statutory construction lien on co-owned pipeline property, holding the JOA's plain language imposed no duty to proactively pay unbilled expenses. The Texas Supreme Court had previously distinguished between the co-owners' shared liability to the lienholder for construction debt and CL III's separate contractual obligations under the JOA's expense-sharing provisions, remanding for analysis of whether the JOA required payment without operator billing.
Texas Supreme Court Reverses $6.1 Million Award in Natural Gas Transportation Contract Dispute Over Balancing Services
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
The Texas Supreme Court reversed a $6.1 million judgment against pipeline owner American Midstream, holding that the trial court and Court of Appeals impermissibly "blue-penciled extra words" into Section 9.1 of a firm gas transportation agreement concerning when the owner's performance was excused due to imbalance requirements on a connected pipeline. The Court rejected Rainbow Energy's lost-profits claim, finding its use of the MAG-0005 agreement to fulfill forward sales contracts without corresponding forward supply was a "speculative, untested venture" for which lost profits could not be recovered.
Eastland Court Applies Statute of Frauds to Gas Processing Agreement, Enforces Damage Limitation Clause Against Lost Profit Claims
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
ETC Texas Pipeline sued XTO Energy for breach of an exclusivity clause in their gathering and processing agreement, alleging XTO sold gas to third parties without compensation, but the Eastland Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment after holding that a dedicated acreage map satisfied the statute of frauds' writing requirement and that the contract's damage limitation clause precluded recovery of lost profit damages. The court determined the agreement was a service contract rather than a mineral interest transfer, but still required compliance with the statute of frauds as a contract requiring performance beyond one year through July 2029.
Dallas Court of Appeals Reverses $37.8 Million Award in Permian Basin Crude Oil Transportation Dispute Over WTL Service and Suezmax Vessel Access
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
The Dallas Court of Appeals reversed a $37.8 million judgment against Medallion Pipeline Company in a dispute over subleased EPIC Crude Pipeline capacity, where ARM Energy Management claimed breach for refusing to transport West Texas Light crude oil and failing to provide terminal facilities capable of accommodating Suezmax vessels with one million barrel capacity. The appellate court rendered judgment that ARM take nothing on its breach of contract claims and remanded Medallion's counterclaim for ARM's failure to maintain credit support and ship-or-pay obligations.
Bankruptcy Court Allows Rejection of Gas Gathering Agreement While Preserving Real Property Covenants
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
The Western District of Texas Bankruptcy Court held that a Chapter 11 debtor could reject an executory gas gathering agreement despite covenants running with the land, marking a matter of first impression in bankruptcy law. The court applied the business judgment standard and found continuing mutual obligations rendered the agreement executory, even though the operator had already constructed the compression system.
Tyler Court of Appeals Reverses Summary Judgment on Pipeline Easement Liability After Unauthorized Assignment Voided Transfer
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
The Tyler Court of Appeals reversed a trial court judgment against successive pipeline easement owners, holding that an assignment made without consent under a Purchase and Sale Agreement's anti-assignment clause was void and could not transfer environmental remediation liability for a 1944 Humble Pipe Line easement. ExxonMobil had argued that successive owners of the Sand Flat Pipeline assumed liability for crude oil contamination from a demolished flowline and tank battery that had been sold separately in 1974.
Texas Business Court to Rule on $432.7M Midstream Breach Claim Turning on Pass-Through Entity Damages Allocation
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
Energy Transfer subsidiary Lone Star NGL seeks $432.7 million from Blackstone-backed Eagle Claw Midstream for allegedly breaching Y-grade gas delivery agreements by diverting volumes to Targa's Grand Prix pipeline in exchange for ownership interests. The Texas Business Court bench trial concluded June 2, 2026, with defendants contending plaintiff's corporate structure limits recoverable damages to $3.97 million—less than 1% of the claimed amount.
First District Considers Whether Polymer-Grade Propylene Qualifies as 'Oil Product' Under Texas Eminent Domain Statute
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
South Texas Pipelines, an Enterprise Products subsidiary, sought to condemn easements for a polymer-grade propylene pipeline from Mont Belvieu to Corpus Christi, with the First District addressing whether PGP qualifies as an 'oil product' under Texas Business Organizations Code §2.105. The appeal turns on statutory construction of eminent domain authority and whether the pipeline operator demonstrated sufficient common carrier public use to satisfy constitutional takings requirements.
Fourteenth Court Reverses Summary Judgment on Force Majeure Defense in $100 Million Winter Storm Uri Gas Repurchase Dispute
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
The Fourteenth Court of Appeals reversed summary judgment in favor of Kinder Morgan in a natural gas supply dispute with Freeport LNG, finding disputed fact issues regarding whether Winter Storm Uri and related governmental actions excused the midstream operator's refusal to honor sell-back obligations under a NAESB Base Contract. The court held that Kinder Morgan failed to establish as a matter of law the causation element required under the contract's force majeure provisions, which excluded economic hardship and loss of gas supply except as specifically enumerated.
First District Affirms NGL Pipeline's Eminent Domain Authority and Valuation Award After Landowner Fails to Present Competing Evidence
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
First District affirmed Grand Prix Pipeline's condemnation of a 0.71-acre easement across Madison County property for its 720-mile Permian-to-Mont Belvieu NGL common carrier, holding the pipeline satisfied Texas Natural Resources Code §111.002's eminent domain requirements. The court upheld a $5,588 special commissioners' valuation award after landowner T.B. Farms failed to present competing appraisal evidence or effectively rebut Grand Prix's common carrier status under the statutory framework.
First Court Affirms $23.5 Million Lost Profit Award in Water Supply Exclusivity Dispute
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
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.
Supreme Court Forecloses Equitable Tolling of §1446(b)(1) Removal Deadline in Interstate Pipeline Dispute
Joel Reese | Jun 25, 2026
Supreme Court held the 30-day removal deadline in 28 U.S.C. §1446(b)(1) cannot be equitably tolled, affirming the Sixth Circuit's remand of Michigan AG's suit seeking shutdown of Enbridge's Line 5 Straits of Mackinac crossing after Enbridge waited 887 days to remove to federal court. The ruling forecloses equitable tolling arguments even where removal is predicated on federal preemption and Grable federal-question jurisdiction in interstate pipeline disputes.
District Court Stays Line 5 Shutdown Despite Trespass Finding, Citing Transit Treaty Obligations Over Tribal Sovereignty
Joel Reese | Jun 25, 2026
District court stayed its June 16, 2026 shutdown injunction requiring Enbridge to cease operations on Line 5's 2.33-mile segment crossing Bad River Reservation despite finding the pipeline operator lacks valid easement and committed ongoing trespass on tribal lands. The stay pending Seventh Circuit appeal balances tribal sovereignty against international treaty obligations under the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty, with the court acknowledging no legal authority supports indefinite trespass but citing 'devastating impact' on energy trade.