His practice is devoted exclusively to oil and gas litigation and transactions and focuses primarily on the upstream and midstream segments of the industry. Stuart represents producers, processors and pipelines in a wide range of matters, including royalty litigation, lease termination cases, disputes arising under operating agreements, gas contract litigation, implied covenant litigation and disputes arising under gas purchase contracts and gas processing agreements. He has been lead counsel in major energy litigation in state and federal courts throughout Texas and has extensive arbitration experience as well. In addition, Stuart regularly represents producer clients in acquisitions of producing properties.

Representative Experience

Some of Stuart's representative litigation and transactions include the following matters:

• Defended operator against $260 million exposure arising from alleged termination of certain surface use agreements covering acreage in the Midland Basin (2018)
• Defended operator against claims that a 1996 assignment conveyed to claimant an interest in the runs and revenues from all wells located in 650 acres of land situated in Gaines County (2018)
• Defended operator in a $25 million claim alleging underpayment of overriding royalty on production from wells in the Deep Bossier Trend (2017)
• Obtained decision from West Virginia Supreme Court affirming summary judgment for operator client construing the terms of a 1910 deed reservation to cover a royalty interest, rather than a mineral interest (2017)
• Defended producer against a $9 billion claim alleging breach of an Area of Mutual Interest agreement covering acreage in the Delaware Basin (2016)
• Represented owner of gas storage facility in arbitration of claims against general contractor for alleged defective construction of the facility (2015)
• Represented oil and gas operator asserting that shallow water flood on adjacent acreage was causing damage to operator’s leases (2015)
• Defended owner of license covering North Sea properties against claims by owner of net proceeds interest in production based on sale of the license without claimant’s consent (2015)
• Represented purchaser in $3.1 billion acquisition of South Texas Eagle Ford Shale properties (2014)
• Represented seller in $530 million divestment of East Texas (Deep Bossier) properties (2014)

• Obtained $3.8 million jury verdict for plaintiff operator in suit to recover cost of plugging wells in the Gulf of Mexico (2011)
• Successfully represented non-operator in joint interest audit claim relating to West Africa producing field and related damage claim against the operator for mismanagement of certain capital projects relating to the field (2010)
• Obtained dismissal of Federal Court RICO action accusing operator of conspiracy to “steal” certain mineral interests purportedly owned by various third parties (2010)
• Obtained favorable Judgment in a trespass-to-try-title action relating to pooled gas unit upholding validity of client's oil and gas lease (2010)
• Obtained order denying class certification of royalty owner suit alleging failure to reasonably develop gas units (2010)
• Obtained injunction enjoining landowner from denying surface access to operator client (2009)
• Obtained defense judgment for operator in damage suit brought by non-operator for loss of oil and gas lease due to late payment of royalty (2008)
• Obtained "take nothing" defense award for operator in arbitration relating to client's alleged failure to reassign certain federal leases situated in the Deepwater Region of the Gulf of Mexico (2007)
• Represented sellers in divestment of $48 million of producing properties in the Overton Field in Texas (2007)
• Defeated attempt to enjoin major oil company client from drilling Barnett Shale Prospect on Comanche Peak Ranch (2006)
• Represented purchaser in $140 million acquisition of producing properties situated in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi (2006)
• Defended producer in South Texas litigation against claim of royalty underpayment on pooled unit production (2005)
• Obtained unanimous arbitration award for producer in a multimillion dollar voting-rights dispute under an operating agreement covering a producing field located offshore West Africa (2005)
• Represented producers in four separate acquisitions of producing properties having total value of $700 million (2005)
• Defended producer in West Texas litigation alleging that the client was responsible for the royalty burdening the client’s non-consenting working interest in a producing well (2004)
• Obtained favorable arbitration award for purchaser in a $3.2 million dispute concerning whether a title defect created by the termination of a Term Assignment had been cured by the seller’s tender of a farmout agreement covering the acreage (2004)
• Defended producer in South Texas litigation against claims of trespass, field-wide drainage, failure to reasonably develop the lease and failure to pay market value gas royalty
• Obtained favorable decision in the landmark oil and gas case of Sun Exploration and Production Company v. Jackson establishing that there is no implied obligation to explore an oil and gas lease in Texas

Bar Admissions

Education
JD, SMU Dedman School of Law, Articles Editor, Southwestern Law Journal, 1975BA, St. Olaf College, cum laude, 1972

• Clifton v. Koontz, 160 Tex. 82, 325 SW2d 684 (1959), Ch. 8, Landmarks of a Century in Oil and Gas Law—Twenty Cases That Shaped Texas Oil and Gas Jurisprudence
• The Emerging Concept of Negative Royalty Payments, Texas Oil & Gas Journal
• The Executive Duty: Here We Go Again, The Advocate
• Current Issues in Royalty Calculations, Advanced Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law
• Comparison of Surface Access in Certain Oil and Gas Producing States, AUREO Annual Meeting