Court Opinion

ID: 9384561
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-04 13:07:37.223328+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:54.298109
License: Public Domain

Fourth Court of Appeals
                                            San Antonio, Texas
                                                   JUDGMENT
                                                No. 04-20-00304-CV

                  1776 ENERGY PARTNERS, LLC and 1776 Energy Operators, LLC,
                                 Appellants/Cross-Appellees

                                                            v.

                        MARATHON OIL EF, LLC and Marathon Oil EF II, LLC,
                                 Appellees/Cross-Appellants

                        From the 218th Judicial District Court, Karnes County, Texas
                                    Trial Court No. 17-02-00033-CVK
                                Honorable Russell Wilson, Judge Presiding

     BEFORE JUSTICE WATKINS, JUSTICE RODRIGUEZ, AND JUSTICE VALENZUELA

      In accordance with this court’s opinion of this date, we REVERSE the portion of the final
judgment declaring:

           The Culberson-Hughes JOA does not require payment of existing obligations under
           separate JOAs to participate in the drilling of the Culberson-Hughes 2H, 3H, and
           4H wells.

We RENDER judgment dismissing appellants 1776 Energy Partners, LLC and 1776 Energy
Operators, LLC’s claim for a declaration “that the Culberson-Hughes JOA does not require
payment of existing obligations under separate JOAs to participate in the drilling of the Culberson-
Hughes 2H, 3H, and 4H wells.” We also REVERSE the award of attorney’s fees to appellants and
REMAND this matter to the trial court for a determination of whether appellants are entitled to an
award of attorney’s fees under the parties’ remaining claims under the Uniform Declaratory
Judgments Act.

         We AFFIRM the remainder of the judgment. We ORDER that appellees recover their costs
of this appeal from appellants and from the surety on appellants’ supersedeas bond, if any. 1

1
    The record does not indicate whether 1776 utilized a surety to supersede the trial court’s judgment.
                                                     04-20-00304-CV

SIGNED March 29, 2023.

                          ____________________________
                          Beth Watkins, Justice

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