Texas appellate attorney Ryan Clinton presented at the 50th Annual Ernest E. Smith Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Institute on April 4, 2004. Ryan presented on the topic “Estate Misconception & Presumed Grant: Navigating Mineral-Ownership Disputes after Van Dyke.” Ryan and DGC associate Laine Schmelzer also wrote a CLE paper on the topic viewable here.

The paper and speech presented a deep dive into the Supreme Court of Texas’s recent opinion in Van Dyke v. Navigator Group, 668 S.W.3d 353 (Tex. 2003). The Court’s landmark opinion substantially changed the rules for resolving mineral-ownership disputes in Texas. Ryan’s speech discussed what led to the Court’s decision, what the opinion means for current litigants, and what questions were left unanswered for us to litigate about for the next decade or more.

On September 29, 2017, Texas appellate attorney Ryan Clinton spoke to an audience of Texas oil-and-gas attorneys, in-house counsel, and industry professionals at the 35th Annual State Bar of Texas Advanced Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law Conference in Houston, Texas.

Ryan spoke about Texas oil-and-gas law's repudiation doctrine, which---in its simplest form---holds that a lessor's repudiation of an operative oil-and-gas lease relieves the lessee of any obligation to conduct further operations on the lease until such time as a court resolves the dispute between the parties over the lease's validity.  But the simplicity of the doctrine in concept has broken down in its application in Texas cases, and parties and litigants in Texas have been left with confusing and often conflicting guidance from Texas courts---including the Texas Supreme Court.

Ryan's accompanying paper on the topic explains the basics of the doctrine, the elements often required by courts to prove the doctrine, and the conflicting judicial interpretations of the doctrine.  To read Ryan's paper in full, click the link below:

Ryan Clinton, To Drill or Not to Drill: The Repudiation Doctrine, State Bar of Texas 35th Annual Advanced Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law, September 29, 2017.

Ryan Clinton's continuing-legal-education paper on oil-and-gas retained-acreage clauses was presented at the 34th Annual State Bar of Texas Advanced Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law Conference in Houston, Texas in September 2016.

Ryan's paper---co-authored by Davis, Gerald & Cremer shareholder Jad Davis---discusses the purpose and history of retained-acreage clauses in Texas oil-and-gas leases and the mechanics of retained-acreage clauses.  In addition, the paper analyses a potential statute-of-frauds defense to the application of retained-acreage clauses, and offers guidance on crafting and construing such clauses in light of current Texas precedent.

To read Ryan's paper in full, click the link below:

Revisiting an Old Friend: Retained-Acreage Clauses in Oil-and-Gas Contracts, State Bar of Texas, Advanced Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law CLE, September 2016

Ryan Clinton's paper on Oil and Gas Damages was presented at the State Bar of Texas's Damages in Civil Litigation Conference in February 2015 by Davis, Gerald & Cremer sharehold Jad Davis.

Ryan's paper analyzes the appropriate damages measurements for frequently litigated oil-and-gas causes of action including royalty claims, implied obligations, trespass, negligence, nuisance, fraud, breach of contract, punitive damages, and slander of title.

To read Ryan's paper in full, click this link:

Oil and Gas Damages, State Bar of Texas, Damages in Civil Litigation Conference, February 2015