CRAWFORD v. XTO ENERGY, INC.
Dec 19, 2019OUTCOME: Remanded case to the trial court for further proceedings
Brian presented an oral argument before the Texas Supreme Court, where they announced their decision in Richard D. Crawford v. XTO Energy Inc. (Cause #15-142) on Friday, February 3, 2017. This case add ... ressed whether the owner of a small mineral tract who has to sue the operator for unpaid royalties can be forced to also sue all the adjacent royalty owners or others who receive money the operator claims was for royalties on the small mineral tract. The Court ruled that the trial court abused its discretion in holding that the adjacent landowners are necessary parties under Rule 39 merely because of XTO’s payments to them, and in dismissing Crawford’s suit for his failure to join those adjacent landowners. The Court reversed the court of appeals’ judgment and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with its opinion.
