Energy Litigation

Energy Litigation

The attorneys at Crisham & Holman have years of experience representing clients in the energy industries, particularly the oil-and-gas industry, developing a unique understanding of their businesses and the legal issues that they may face. 

Our attorneys have experience representing clients in legal matters related to:

• Purchase & sale agreements
• Surface owner disputes
• Midstream disputes
• Lease and working interest owner disputes
• Joint operating agreements (JOAs)
• Pooling orders
• Joint development agreements
• Environmental claims, such as water table contamination and hydraulic fracturing
• Mineral rights and royalty interests

Our experience includes cases arising from operations in the Denver-Julesburg Basin and Wattenberg Basin (Colorado), multiple basins in Oklahoma, the Pinedale field in Wyoming, and northwest North Dakota.

Who We Work With

Our team works with a diverse set of clients, including both companies and individuals in the energy industries. We have represented a wide variety of oil-and-gas operators, including Fortune 50 public companies, private equity-backed operators, and smaller closely held operators. We have also represented oil field service providers and individual royalty owners. Our clients' sectors have included upstream and midstream oil and gas, precious metals, and others.

Representative Matters

• Trial counsel for public oil-and-gas operator in one-week bench trial defending breach of contract and trade-secrets misappropriation claims in Oklahoma federal court. After the plaintiff closed its case, C&H argued a Rule 52 "halftime" motion for judgment. The court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice.
• Obtained a favorable resolution on behalf of PureWest Energy defending lawsuit brought by water disposal services provider in Colorado state court.
• Representing private oil-and-gas operator defending "frac-bash" claims in Oklahoma state court.
• Obtained withdrawal of opposing party's motion for preliminary injunction, and a favorable resolution, on behalf of exploration and production company defending against non-operating working interest owner's request for client's removal as operator under joint operating agreement.
• Defended Camino Natural Resources against putative class action claims alleging late payments and underpayment of royalties under Oklahoma law in Colorado federal court.
• Represented former owner of petroleum refinery in two-and-a-half week arbitration hearing concerning claims in excess of $100 million arising from alleged corrosion-related failure of buried pipe, and subsequent release of petroleum product, at refinery. Case settled on a confidential basis prior to final ruling.*
• Grayden v. Spring Creek Energy Partners, __ Fed. App’x __, 2022 WL 17972139 (10th Cir. 2022): successfully briefed, argued, and secured unanimous reversal of district court's grant of summary judgment against client alleging fraudulent concealment in her sale of oil-and-gas royalty interests.
• Abrahamsen v. ConocoPhillips Co., 2014 WL 2884870 (Del. Sup. Ct. May 30, 2014): secured dismissal, as a matter of Delaware forum non conveniens law, of four complaints asserting Delaware personal-injury claims that over one hundred Norwegian workers allegedly incurred while working on oil rigs and platforms in the North Sea.*
• Cook v. Rockwell Int'l Corp., 618 F.3d 1127 (10th Cir. 2010): secured reversal of $926 million judgment in favor of plaintiff class in nuclear environmental contamination case on a variety of grounds, including erroneous interpretation of the federal Price-Anderson Act establishing claims for nuclear-related liability, erroneous approach to preemption of state law by federal nuclear safety standards, and erroneous interpretation of the Colorado common law of trespass and nuisance.*
• Obtained an arbitration award for an international mining company against an engineering firm in a breach of contract dispute arising from the construction and design of a mill; served as second chair for the three-week arbitration hearing.*

* Representative matters handled prior to Crisham & Holman LLC.

Because of our litigation experience, Crisham & Holman is equipped to handle the most complex legal issues that arise in the development of natural resources. From the outset of representation, you will have access to a legal team with working knowledge of the energy industry and the laws that apply to the development of natural resources.

Memberships

Crisham & Holman is a member of the Denver Petroleum Club.

About Crisham & Holman

Crisham & Holman is a litigation boutique with deep industry knowledge relating to the development of natural resources. Our attorneys have handled a range of cases affecting businesses and individuals involved in oil and gas and other energy industry sectors, and we have experience representing them at trial and in front of various governing bodies. We take a client-centered approach to every case, ensuring that your needs, and the needs of your company, are the focus of our litigation strategy.