Gray Reed & McGraw LLP

Gray Reed & McGraw is a Texas-based, full-service law firm with over 120 lawyers in Dallas and Houston. Since 1985, our firm philosophy has been to provide high-quality legal services in a streamlined manner, to provide sophisticated and complex legal advice that is reasonably priced, and to provide big-firm results with small-firm efficiency. For 30 years, we have dedicated ourselves to achieving success for our clients, as they define success – whether that is winning a critical lawsuit, closing a key deal, consulting to save taxes, or just giving good business advice to avoid disputes.

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Latest from Gray Reed & McGraw LLP

Texas Construction Law Blog

Mechanic’s Liens For Design Professionals: A Powerful Payment Collection Tool

By Christian Dewhurst

January 22, 2021

Co-author: Tim Fandrey In these unprecedented times, every bit of revenue is critical to the continued operation of nearly every business operating within the construction industry. Fortunately, there are a myriad of remedies to aide collection efforts. Perhaps the most commonly discussed remedy is the mechanic’s lien provided by Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code Chapter.…

Energy & the Law

Pennsylvania Rule of Capture Still Bars Subsurface Trespass Claim

By Charles Sartain

January 20, 2021

Co-author Brittany Blakey After a trial court order, two appellate opinions, a dissent, and another appellate opinion, the tension between a well operator and an adjacent mineral owner over whether hydraulic fracturing can constitute a subsurface trespass in Pennsylvania has, for the most part, been resolved. In Briggs v. Southwestern Production Company, several points of Pennsylvania law have been confirmed: Well operators may use hydraulic fracturing to drain oil and gas from under another’s property,…

Energy & the Law

2020’s Bad Guys in Energy

By Charles Sartain

January 12, 2021

Larceny, that business enterprise with a knack for (fleeting) success regardless of the state of the economy, was busy last year. As Obi-Wan Kenobe would say it: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy as the bad guys of energy in 2020. Here we go. __________________________________________________________________________ PdVSA First up, as predictable as the Cowboys underperforming, Venezuela’s national oil company, PdVSA, returns to these pages. Perps: Lennys Rangel, former head…

Energy & the Law

Renewable Energy Tax Credits Extended by New COVID Relief Law

By Charles Sartain

January 5, 2021

Author Joshua D. Smeltzer* The recently passed Consolidated Appropriations Act, providing additional COVID pandemic relief, also includes important extensions for renewable energy tax credits. These extensions represent a significant tax benefit for renewable energy companies and their potential investors. However, if not done correctly taxpayers can lose the tax benefit and potentially face tax penalties. Here’s what you should know about the potential tax benefits and what to consider when claiming the credits. The…

Energy & the Law

Texas Supreme Court Deems Continuous Development Clause Ambiguous

By Charles Sartain

December 30, 2020

Co-author Skyler Stuckey In Endeavor Energy Resources, L.P. v. Energen Resources Corp. et al. the Supreme Court of Texas construed a continuous development clause in an oil and gas lease covering 11,300 acres in Howard County. After the primary term, lessee Endeavor could retain acreage by drilling a new well every 150 days. The clause gave Endeavor “ … the right to accumulate unused days in any 150-day term during the continuous development program in…

Energy & the Law

Contaminated Butane and Propane Creates Fight Over General Terms and Conditions

By Charles Sartain

December 22, 2020

Enterprise Products Operating v. Trafigura, A G. asks, Who should pay when a “black blob” that had “the stench of a skunk” was left behind after $27 million worth of an odorless product is delivered from a ship? The case holds that: a plaintiff can recover for losses paid by its insurance company and the parol evidence rule can be avoided in favor of the parties’ course of dealing.…

Energy & the Law

Predicting the Effect of Biden’s Election on the Oil Industry and the Climate

By Charles Sartain

December 15, 2020

Now that our new president has been elected (Proud Boys, its over!), let’s take a look at what people smarter than I are predicting it will mean for the domestic oil and gas industry and the climate. In summary: bad for one, no meaningful help for the other, and the fury of the fiscal kraken will be unleashed. (As usual these are summaries; see the articles for a fuller picture).…

Energy & the Law

Discovery Rule Can’t Save a Louisiana Succession’s Untimely Claim

By Charles Sartain

December 10, 2020

In May et al v. Succession of Mayo Romero et al a Louisiana court of appeal denied the plaintiff’s efforts to suspend the running of liberative prescription in the face of peremptory exceptions. The discovery rule is one theory under which the doctrine of contra non valentum can save a late-filed lawsuit. Call it what you want, but opening a succession to investigate claims and sitting on those claims for 13 years is not likely…

Energy & the Law

Texas NPRI Burdened with Post-Production Costs

By Charles Sartain

December 8, 2020

Co-author Rusty Tucker BlueStone Nat. Res. II, LLC v. Nettye Engler Energy, LP is another Texas case deciding whether language creating a nonparticipating royalty interest prohibited deduction of post-production costs. (Spoiler alert: it didn’t. Read on to learn why.) The Deed By a 1986 Deed Engler’s predecessors conveyed land to BlueStone’s predecessor. Grantor reserved an undivided 1/8th NPRI in the minerals and was entitled to 1/8th of gross production, “ … to be delivered to…

Tilting the Scales

Dereliction of Duty: Can Local Governments Be Liable for Not Protecting Property from Protestors?

By Bill Drabble

November 19, 2020

Eager to spark the socialist revolution, left-wing activists seized Ramsett Park and the surrounding area and declared an independent autonomous community dedicated to social and economic justice. The activists threw up barricades and excluded both the police and the “bourgeoisie” owners of businesses surrounding the park. Fearing a primary challenge, Mayor Gunderson ordered the police to withdraw from the area except for life-or-death situations. As days turned into weeks, the area reverted to a Hobbesian…

Gray Reed & McGraw LLP

Gray Reed & McGraw LLP Blogs

Blog Authors

Mechanic’s Liens For Design Professionals: A Powerful Payment Collection Tool

Pennsylvania Rule of Capture Still Bars Subsurface Trespass Claim

2020’s Bad Guys in Energy

Renewable Energy Tax Credits Extended by New COVID Relief Law

Texas Supreme Court Deems Continuous Development Clause Ambiguous

Contaminated Butane and Propane Creates Fight Over General Terms and Conditions

Predicting the Effect of Biden’s Election on the Oil Industry and the Climate

Discovery Rule Can’t Save a Louisiana Succession’s Untimely Claim

Texas NPRI Burdened with Post-Production Costs

Dereliction of Duty: Can Local Governments Be Liable for Not Protecting Property from Protestors?

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