Railroad Commission of Texas and Magnolia Oil & Gas Operating LLC v. Elsie Opiela and Adrian Opiela, Jr.

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: June 30, 2023
• Docket: 03-21-00258-CV
• Status: Published

Opinion

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN

JUDGMENT RENDERED JUNE 30, 2023

NO. 03-21-00258-CV

Railroad Commission of Texas and Magnolia Oil & Gas Operating LLC, Appellants

v.

Elsie Opiela and Adrian Opiela, Jr., Appellees

APPEAL FROM THE 53RD DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY BEFORE CHIEF JUSTICE BYRNE, JUSTICES KELLY AND SMITH AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART AND REMANDED – OPINION BY CHIEF JUSTICE BYRNE DISSENTING OPINION BY JUSTICE KELLY

This is an appeal from the judgment signed by the trial court on May 12, 2021.

Having reviewed the record and the parties’ arguments, the Court holds that there was reversible

error in the trial court’s judgment. We reverse the parts of the trial court’s judgment in which it

determined (1) that the Railroad Commission of Texas erred in concluding it has no authority to

review whether an applicant seeking a well permit has authority under a lease or other relevant

title documents to drill the Audioslave A 102H Well (the Well), and (2) that the Commission

erred in failing to consider the pooling clause of the lease covered by the Well in deciding that

Magnolia Oil & Gas Operating LLC has a good-faith claim to operate the Well. We affirm the

parts of the trial court’s judgment in which it determined that the Commission erred in finding

that Magnolia showed a good-faith claim of right to drill the Well and that this cause should be remanded. We reverse the Commission’s Order and remand this cause to the Commission for

further proceedings.

It is further order that appellants pay half of the costs of this appeal and that

appellees pay the remaining half of those costs.