Texas Supreme Court Cites Prof. Monika Ehrman’s Article on Oil and Gas Executive Right

The Texas Supreme Court recently cited OU Law Professor Monika Ehrman’s article, “One Oil and Gas Right to Rule Them All” (55 Houston Law Review (2018)), in its opinion addressing the duty of the holder of executive rights to minerals owned by another.

In Texas Outfitters, LLC v. Nicholson, the court cited Ehrman’s article, which identifies major issues that arise out of the severance of the executive right from the underlying mineral estate, focusing on scenarios where the preferred outcome of the executive does not harmonize with that of the nonexecutive.

In its opinion, the Texas Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court finding that the holder of the executive right to lease a mineral estate violated its duty of utmost good faith and fair dealing by refusing to lease in contravention of the non-executive's known wishes, holding that legally sufficient evidence supported the trial court's finding.

The case was argued Oct. 10, 2018, and the opinion was issued April 12, 2019. The page citing Ehrman’s article is below. Read the full opinion here.