Energy Litigation

Overview

The Steptoe & Johnson Energy Litigation Team is one of the largest and most diverse industry-specific litigation practices in the United States. More than 60 Steptoe & Johnson litigators represent energy clients throughout the nation, with our highest concentration of litigators centrally located in the major producing oil and gas regions in the U.S.

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Highlights

  • Dedicated team of litigators serving only the energy industry in all major shale plays
  • Nearly half of our litigators have more than 10 years’ experience in energy litigation
  • Largest mineral title practice in the eastern United States, so when mineral title litigation occurs, we know the title issues from the outset
  • Our Emergency Response Team is ready to assist in a crisis and help clients prepare for the best response in critical situations

Representative Experience

  • As lead counsel, successfully defended claims in excess of $250M regarding allegations of contract breach, fraud, and tortious interference in a natural gas measurement dispute
  • As lead counsel, prosecuted a claim in excess of $24M on behalf of a coal operator in an eminent domain matter that went to verdict in a jury trial
  • Represented an oil and gas exploration company in state court litigation regarding public road easement and gravel use on fee lands in western North Dakota
  • Represented oil and gas exploration company in a contract dispute involving oil and gas lease overriding royalty assignments covering lands in northern Colorado
  • Litigated cases involving breach of lease agreements, breach of implied covenants, right-of-way disputes, injunctions against landowners, royalty disputes, and all types of energy-related cases in Colorado, Wyoming, West Virginia, Texas, and Pennsylvania
  • Positive Supreme Court decision regarding the interpretation and application of the contractual indemnity obligation pursuant to the Texas Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Statute
  • Defended a major energy company in a Clean Water Act citizens’ suit alleging wastewater contamination from selenium and conductivity
  • Litigated Marcellus shale well claims on surface use, ownership, drilling rights, pooling, and lease interpretation
  • Defended oil and gas companies in mineral title and landowner lease dispute litigation in Ohio state and federal courts, including lease termination and Dormant Mineral Act litigation
  • Represented oil and gas exploration company concerning a contract dispute regarding the interpretation of term assignments covering lands in central Wyoming
  • Prevailed on summary judgment in a matter before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, enforcing a provision permitting fixed-rate post-production costs to be deducted from an oil and gas lessor’s royalty payments
     

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