Oil and Gas

Defended one of the largest natural gas producers in the United States in a blowout case against claims of gross negligence to preclude enforcement of limitation of liability, indemnity and allocation of risk provisions in a Master Service Agreement, with the court awarding nearly $10 million in damages, including prejudgment interest, to the client.

Represented a provider of infrastructure services in connection with various issues concerning an engineering, procurement and construction contract regarding the Maurepas Pipelines Project, which has three separate pipelines measuring approximately 100 miles in aggregate, and three new pumping stations. The project spans Ascension, St. Charles, St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes in Louisiana and will provide local refineries with pipeline access to domestically produced crude oil. The latest issue has involved contesting $20+ million in liens asserted by the pipeline owner in four parishes.

Successfully defended a natural gas pipeline company in a legacy lawsuit alleging millions of dollars in contamination to property located in south Louisiana, with the defendant arguing that none of the constituents alleged to have contaminated the property could have originated from the defendant's operations. The court dismissed the company from the suit in one of the first instances after legislature enacted amendments to governing statute permitting dismissals after pretrial evidentiary hearing.

Obtained a favorable ruling on behalf of an energy corporation from the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Second Circuit, affirming the state court's holding after a trial that depth limitation language in a $260 million mineral purchase agreement was unambiguous and that the corporation was the rightful owner of the oil, gas and minerals at issue, with the case demanding a detailed analysis of contract law, as well as an understanding of the complexities of geologic formations and correlative oil and gas well markers.

Represented an oil and gas company in a claim by a private landowner alleging environmental contamination, erosion and land loss spanning some 8,500 acres pursuant to oil and gas operations in St. Mary Parish dating back nearly a century.

Defended an energy corporation in a suit for the recovery of more than $15 million in damages and expenses resulting from a natural gas well blowout, involving claims for negligence, breach of warranty and products liability arising from a defective gate valve and casing.

Represented an offshore oil and gas producer in a federal criminal investigation regarding an explosion on a company-owned platform.

Represented an international drilling contractor in the defense of claims arising out of the BP oil spill multi-district litigation. The case focused on complex technical matters involving geology, well design and construction, subsea blowout preventers, drilling operations, well control, production and source control. We took more than 50 depositions involving the aforementioned issues, were responsible for managing numerous expert reports, and prepared multiple witnesses for trial. We actively participated in the Phase One and Two trials, which lasted a total of four months.

Successfully defended a client in an $18 million lawsuit filed in federal court alleging violations of federal securities laws, state law fraud and intentional misrepresentation concerning the client's purchase of the plaintiffs' interest in a company formed after the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010 to employ unique centrifuge technology to separate oil from water to assist oil spill remediation efforts in the Gulf.

Litigated and then negotiated a favorable settlement for an oilfield equipment manufacturer in a products liability and negligence suit alleging more than $30 million in damages to an offshore oil and gas well resulting from the premature activation of a piece of equipment. The settlement included a significantly discounted payment to resolve all claims.

Defended an ICC arbitration and two appeals to the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in securing confirmation of an international arbitral award on behalf of a state-owned petroleum company, which resulted in the dismissal of more than $100 million in breach of contract and tort claims arising out of the sale of multiple gasoline shipments, and ordered reimbursement to the client of more than $730,000 in attorneys' fees and costs.

Special committee of a public energy company board of directors in connection with $150 million asset sale.

Represented an oil and gas company in the $89 million sale of substantially all of its assets.

Represented a private oil and gas company in the sale of $27 million of securities to a private equity fund.

Oil and gas service company in connection with the restructuring of its outstanding debt with a $75 million credit facility and private equity investment of $50 million.

Represented a public oil and gas company in connection with its $50 million debt recapitalization.

Negotiated a favorable settlement for one of the nation's largest independently owned petroleum marketing companies in a complex commercial transaction involving biodiesel and other natural fuels.

Filed a series of patent applications for the world's first system that enables an operator to generate mini-lateral boreholes in controlled directions many hundreds of feet, obviating the need for the current "perf-and-frac" systems that are so prevalent (and controversial) and exponentially increasing the formation face.

Represented an upstream company after the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) levied a significant civil penalty against the company for alleged unsafe practices relating to work performed on a heliport on an offshore platform. The matter has been appealed to the Interior Board of Land Appeals and BSEE rescinded the civil penalty.