TEXARKANA, Texas, June 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A Texas appeals court has ruled in favor of Dallas-based MJR Oil & Gas 2001 LLC in an East Texas mineral rights dispute involving dozens of leases.
The 6th Court of Appeals in Texarkana ruled on June 22 that MJR's right of first refusal was a covenant running with the land. The ruling reversed the summary judgment granted by the trial court in Longview and sent the case back for trial. Lawyers with Hicks Thomas LLP successfully argued the appeal for MJR.
"We're very pleased for our client. There is a considerable amount at stake, since the ruling affects our client's rights in numerous oil and gas leases," said Hicks Thomas appellate lawyer J. Stephen Barrick of Houston.
The appeals court held that a 2002 settlement agreement referenced in a recorded assignment of overriding royalty interests giving MJR a right of first refusal on any sale of the leases was a covenant running with the land that was binding on the original parties' successors. Some of the successors failed to comply with MJR's first-refusal rights, and that led to the lawsuit against AriesOne, GFP Texas Inc., Miken Oil Inc. and SND Energy Co.
"The ruling was important because the court clarified that a right of first refusal in an oil and gas lease can be a covenant running with the land, even if it is not described with those words," said Hicks Thomas co-founder John B. Thomas. "This is a big win for our client."
Also representing MJR Oil & Gas are Jody Sheets and Jason Gunderman of Hicks Thomas, and P. Michael Jung and Jadd Masso of Clark Hill Strasburger in Dallas. David Henry of Stevens Henry in Longview was local counsel in the trial court. The case is MJR Oil & Gas 2001 LLC v. AriesOne LP, et al., Case No. 06-00116-CV in the Texas 6th Court of Appeals.
Founded in 1997, Texas-based Hicks Thomas LLP is a premier litigation firm representing plaintiffs and defendants across the nation with offices in Houston, Austin, Beaumont and Amarillo, Texas, and Sacramento, California. The firm provides in-depth experience in cases involving oil and gas, environmental, complex commercial, toxic tort, construction, products liability, corporate governance, securities, banking, insurance coverage, transportation, trade secrets and business litigation. Visit the firm at http://www.hicks-thomas.com.
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SOURCE Hicks Thomas LLP
