Keith B. HallLSU Law CenterIn Hull-Wright v. Arsenal Resources, LLC, 2026 WL 125974 (W. Va. Ct. App. 2026), four owners of mineral royalties (“Petitioners”) appealed a unitization order from the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission of West Viriginia.BackgroundIn May...
Pennsylvania Federal Court Decides Issues in Lease Formation Dispute
Keith B. HallLSU Law CenterIn Warner v. Shell Legacy Holdings, LLC, 2025 WL 2783702 (W.D. Pa. 2025), the court resolved several issues in ruling on motions for summary judgment. The Warner plaintiffs alleged that the defendants failed to pay bonuses due under oil and...
On rehearing, West Virginia’s Top Court Sticks to Expansion of Marketable Title Rule
Keith B. HallLSU Law Center In Romeo v. Antero Resources Corp., 917 S.E.2d 26 (W. Va. 2025), the plaintiffs brought a class action in state court, arguing that Antero Resources had underpaid the royalites owed under oil and gas leases covering land in Harrison County,...
46th Annual Institute a Smashing Success
Nearly 200 registrants gathered Sunday, June 8 through Tuesday, June 10, 2025, at The Westin Nashville for the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation’s 46th Annual Institute. The attendees included a record 22 law students who attended using Schetroma Travel Grants, as...
Spotlight on Professor Mark ‘Buzz’ Belleville
Current association: Appalachian School of LawPast associations: Woods & Rogers PLC (Blacksburg, Va.) and Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP (Cleveland and Columbus)Law School: Ohio State University College of LawUndergraduate: Miami University (B.A.,...
Sandra Fraley Receives the 2025 John L. McClaugherty Award
The Energy & Mineral Law Foundation (EMLF) is proud to announce it has presented its 2025 John L. McClaugherty Award to Sandra K. Fraley. The McClaugherty Award is the Foundation’s highest honor and recognizes outstanding contributions to the field of energy and...
Market Enhancement Clause in Ohio Lease Did Not Authorize Lessee’s Disputed Deductions
Keith B. Hall LSU Law School In The Grissoms, LLC v. Antero Resources Corp., 133 F.4th 605 (6th Cir. 2025), the United States Sixth Circuit held that the market enhancement clause in certain oil and gas leases in Ohio did not authorize the lessee to deduct the costs...
Fun in Nashville
This year’s Annual Institute and the follow-up Special Institute on Bridging Traditional and Renewable Energy Practice will be in Nashville, Tennessee, a great city to visit. Nashville has fantastic food, refreshing drinks, wonderful music, interesting history, and...
Welcome Our 46th Annual Institute Chairs
The Energy & Mineral Law Foundation is proud to announce the chairs of its 46th Annual Institute, taking place June 8–10, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. This year’s chairs reflect the strength of leadership and the diversity of practice area and geography within...
The Return of Briggs
By Keith B. Hall,LSU Law School A federal district court recently issued a decision, Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Co., 2025 WL 887779 (M.D. Pa.) (Briggs II), that involved the same parties and basic claim—a claim of subsurface trespass by hydraulic...