ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL DISPUTES

Oil & Gas Disputes in Dallas

The energy industry is a crucial component of the Texas and U.S. economies.

At Godwin Bowman PC, our Texas energy and environmental dispute attorneys have earned a reputation for their skill and knowledge in matters pertaining to energy and the environment. We have provided elite representation to clients in the energy industry for more than 35 years.

Our firm handles cases involving:

Oil and natural gas litigation
The attorneys of Godwin Bowman PC are experienced with domestic and international litigation involving onshore and offshore drilling and hydraulic fracturing. We are familiar with oil and gas industry regulations, contracts, and agreements, and we can provide informed representation on issues ranging from alleged OSHA violations to exploration and production.

Insurance recovery litigation
Our litigation experience also extends to insurance recovery disputes, including environmental and builder’s risk policy coverage and various environmental liabilities such as hazard cleanups, contamination remediation, and toxic torts.

Renewable energy and wind disputes
More and more companies are investing in renewable energy and alternative energy sources such as wind. With this market becoming increasingly more saturated, the potential for disputes arise. We stay up-to-date on renewable energy policies, regulations and procedures so we can provide effective representation to our energy industry clients.

Energy workouts and reorganizations
Godwin Bowman PC has experience representing creditors, committees, and related agencies in both energy workouts and energy reorganization proceedings. We recognize the various avenues for litigation in this arena and we provide advice to our clients to help them avoid common pitfalls.

We Understand Energy and Environmental Issues

We have significant experience with numerous energy and environmental matters such as:

• Gas supply contracts –
  We are prepared to meet the challenges that are frequently found in modern day gas supply agreements, such as disputes over pricing provisions due to ever-changing energy markets.
• Interconnect agreements –
  Disputes can arise over the terms of any contractual agreement, including interconnect agreements. If you are facing accusations involving violations of payment schedules, acceptable use policies, or other interconnect agreement issues, contact our firm.
• Property contamination issues –
  Energy companies and other environmental agencies often become involved in litigation over property contamination allegations. Our experienced trial lawyers provide aggressive defense and informed advocacy in the wake of these disputes.
• Antitrust claims –
  An aggressively competitive free market is the backbone of the U.S. economy, a characteristic that is preserved by antitrust laws. We represent energy companies and other environmental institutions facing allegations of antitrust law violations.
• Surface-owner disputes –
  Property ownership can be a complicated issue. The individual or entity that owns the surface rights may not own the mineral rights – and this often leads to conflicts. If, while trying to enforce your mineral rights, you have disputes with a surface owner over drilling noise, contamination, oil traffic, or other mineral rights, we can help.
• Toxic tort claims –
  We have extensive experience representing energy companies who have been accused by individuals of wrongful exposure to toxic chemicals as a result of energy company operations.
• Energy agreements –
  We have represented clients in a wide range of disputes involving energy agreements, including dedication agreements, gas gathering agreements, and processing agreements.

Environmental cases are complex and require attorneys experienced in handling critical environmental and energy disputes. We know how environmental laws impact our clients, and we provide effective, efficient representation in these important cases.

Oil & Gas Disputes

Our Dallas commercial litigation lawyers understand that the oil and gas industry operates in a heavily regulated environment and we provide strategic and supportive advocacy for the oil, gas and energy companies we represent. If you are considering your options for legal counsel in oil and gas litigation, you can rely on Godwin Bowman PC for elite representation in even the most complex and high-stakes cases. We offer an extraordinary level of commitment to our clients and our record of success speaks for itself.

What We Do

Our areas of practice in the field of oil and gas disputes include:

Acquisitions and divestitures
When it comes to acquisitions, mergers and sales in the oil and gas industry, you can benefit from our experience. If you are involved in a complex energy industry deal, we have the transactional skills and extensive knowledge necessary to provide legal guidance.

Leasing and land management
Numerous complications can arise in split estate cases –where an oil and gas company owns mineral rights but the overlaying surface rights are possessed by an individual or private entity. If you are facing a controversy regarding a Bureau of Land Management issued oil and gas exploration and development lease, contact us.

Downstream / upstream
We represent energy companies in all major sectors of the oil and gas industry, including upstream exploration and production, and downstream petroleum refining.

Due diligence
Due diligence examinations are a common step in the oil and gas purchase and sale process. Buyers have a duty to perform their due diligence and research an oil and gas property or product and report any issues prior to the transaction becoming finalized. In a due diligence clause, a seller also agrees to make all records pertaining to the property available for inspection. We can assist when disputes between buyers and sellers arise.

Environmental Case Issues
We handle matters involving toxic torts, class action lawsuits and multi-district litigation, as well as individual, state, and federal environmental matters arising from oil and gas exploration, production, and refining.

Private equity / venture capital
We also handle disputes involving oil and gas drilling private equity firms and oil and gas venture capital investors.

Service company representation
Disputes that arise in the service side of the oil and gas industry usually involve tax, labor and employment, and environmental issues. We represent a wide array of players in the oil and gas industry, including oil and gas service companies, pipeline operators, and those that perform drilling operations or hydraulic fracturing.

Shale & hydraulic fracturing
The increasing desire to curb our nation’s dependence on foreign oil has led to a variety of cutting-edge methods for extracting oil and gas, such as hydraulic fracturing. Because fracking is one of the newest forms of petroleum extraction, there are numerous issues that can become the basis for disputes. Potential issues include the safety of fracking for employees, the toxicity of fracking fluid, groundwater contamination from disposal wells, and more.