Category: Legal Analysis
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US Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Miller County Class Action Case
The United States Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in Standard Fire Insurance Co v. Knowles, U.S.Supreme Court, No. 11-1450, a breach of contract case out of Miller County, Arkansas. Knowles involves an insurance companies’ underpayment of an insured’s hail damage claim. Plaintiff sued Standard Fire on behalf of himself and those in Arkansas that were…
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Attention Business Owners: The Deadline to Pay Arkansas Franchise Taxes is Approaching
In Arkansas, for-profit corporations must pay a franchise tax to keep the corporation’s charter. Essentially, a franchise tax is a “privilege tax” imposed on corporations and other business entities, including limited liability companies and other non-exempt companies, that transact business in Arkansas. Ark. Code Ann. 26-54-101, et seq. An example of a non-exempt company would be a…
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The Duhig Rule Explained (Mineral Reservations are Tricky)
Because natural gas exploration has increased in Arkansas in recent years, my clients are often negotiating land transactions where they convey the surface, but retain all or a portion of their mineral interests. One would think that it would be simple to reserve a fractional interest in minerals from the grant, but in truth, it…
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What is a Mineral Title Opinion?
For the last ten years I have been a mineral title lawyer and have enjoyed rendering mineral title opinions for production companies who are exploring and producing in various areas of the country, including the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas and Arkoma Basin in Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma. This blog post contains portions of a paper…
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After the Natural Gas Boom…
One of thedailylawblog‘s readers forwarded this New York Times Article, which contains a great discussion of the state of domestic natural gas shale development during record low gas prices. The article tells the story about how the gas market affects natural gas producers. For the visual learners, these charts depict the story perfectly. Essentially, gas prices…
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Caveat Emptor Will not Apply if your House is Haunted as a Matter of Law
It is the end of October, which means we are so close to my third favorite holiday of the year: Halloween. As a kid, I always enjoyed the novelty of the day: dressing up as your favorite super hero or villain, ringing doorbells and plundering as much candy as one could dream of consuming. “ARGGG…he…
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10th Circuit Court of Appeals Rules Against Surface Owner in Trespass Case; Awards Attorneys Fees to Defendant
Yesterday, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district’s court’s decision denying Plaintiffs’ complaint for trespass caused by Defendant’s seismic exploration in Kimzey v. Flamingo, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 21360. In Kimzey, the Plaintiffs owned surface only interests in Roger Mills County, Oklahoma. The Defendant, Flamingo, was an exploration company that was hired to engage in geophysical…
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OG&E Offers Free Home Weatherization Program
This morning, a contractor hired by OG&E visited my humble abode to perform an energy efficiency audit. The audit is part of a weatherization program sponsored by OG&E, and was offered at no cost. That’s right–free! The contractor tested my home for air leaks, checked my attic for sufficient insulation, tested my furnace and A/C…
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Compressed Natural Gas as a Viable Option. It’s Coming.
In early March of this year, General Electric and Chesapeake, through its affiliate Peake Fuel Solutions, partnered to develop the necessary infrastructure for delivering Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) to the end user. Yesterday, the companies debuted their “CNG in a Box” system, which allows convenience store retailers that are situated near major pipelines to directly…
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Crude Oil Prices Rise on Supply Concerns
The price of crude oil rose sharply today due to reports of concerns with lower supply. The supply decrease is apparently due to lesser production in North Africa and rising tensions between Syria and Turkey. More information on FuelFix.com