Royalty Litigation & Class Actions
Vinson & Elkins has assumed the role of national counsel representing domestic upstream E&P companies in royalty litigation in nearly 20 jurisdictions across the United States. We call on our decades of experience in assisting producers in oil, gas, shale, and CO2 royalty disputes in state and federal courts nationwide, as well as in administrative appeals of federal and state royalty claims. In addition to offering superior guidance once a case has been filed, our team actively provides pre-litigation advice and training on royalty-related issues.
Royalty Underpayment Claims & Class Actions
Royalty lawsuits represent one of the most rapidly evolving categories of litigation in the country. V&E’s Energy Litigation team is at the cutting edge of this field, serving as lead counsel across the country in both individual lawsuits and in class action lawsuits that have helped to shape both the procedural law of class actions in many federal jurisdictions and the substantive law related to the payment of royalties. Royalty class action suits can include claims for payment covering thousands of lessors spanning decades, and V&E’s lawyers have the procedural and substantive knowledge necessary to effectively litigate both the class certification issues and merits issues raised by class claims.
Pre-Litigation Advice & Training
In addition to offering superior guidance once a case has been filed, our litigators offer pre-litigation advice on issues such as the royalty implications of acquisitions and new marketing arrangements, recommended changes to royalty payment practices, and calculation and payment of federal royalties. We also provide training on issues relating to lease analysis, division order deck set-up, booking of revenues and costs, and check stub disclosures. Our clients regularly benefit from our thorough counseling and training, which effectively preempts litigation or strategically positions clients in the event litigation is necessary.
Experience Highlights
(Tex.) — Obtained a take-nothing judgment and reversal of judgment on jury verdict in Court of Appeals and Texas Supreme Court in royalty case involving claims that processing costs for extraction of CO2 and NGLs from gas stream were non-deductible
(Tex.) — Secured a complete victory in the Texas Supreme Court in a jurisprudentially significant royalty underpayment case on behalf of a leading oil and gas producer
(W.D. Okla.) — Obtained denial of plaintiff’s motion for class certification on state-wide royalty underpayment claims in Oklahoma federal court
Defended multiple clients in Texas federal court in multidistrict litigation comprising a series of cases brought by a purported national class of royalty interest owners alleging antitrust violations, fraud, conspiracy, and breach of contract
Defended a large independent oil and gas producer in multiple related lawsuits, both individual and class, alleging underpayment of royalties on natural gas and natural gas liquids
(S.D. Miss.) — Represented an oil and gas production company against a putative class action alleging that it had underpaid royalties to mineral owners in Mississippi; obtained an order denying class certification leading to dismissal of the case
(Ad hoc Arbitration) – Representing major Australian energy company in dispute over the calculation and payment of gas royalty relating to liquified natural gas project in Eastern Australia; involved multiple arbitration proceedings and appeal proceedings remain ongoing
Represented upstream oil-and-gas company in an appeal of multi-million dollar civil penalty concerning federal royalty payments before an administrative law judge; achieved complete dismissal of civil penalty
(Texas) – Defending upstream oil-and-gas company against royalty underpayment claims
(Ohio and PA) – Defending upstream oil-and-gas company against royalty underpayment claims
(Oklahoma) — Defended producer in multiple royalty underpayment suits brought by same plaintiffs’ law firm on behalf of hundreds of royalty owners in Oklahoma state court
Counseled energy companies regarding regulatory compliance with federal leasing and royalty payment requirements and litigated administrative appeals of notices of noncompliance and civil penalties before administrative law judges