Dick Watt - Houston, TX

Overview

Awards and Honors

Education

Current Employment Position(s)

• In Memoriam

Representative Clients

• Served both on arbitration panels and representing clients before arbitration panels in arbitrations involving Joint Operating Agreements, Exploration Agreements, gas contracts, gas plants, offshore oil and gas facilities, and similar oil and gas contracts and joint ventures

• Served as a mediator in numerous disputes, mostly related to Energy, Oil and Gas or Real Estate

• Representation of party in arbitration over pipeline construction contract in the Arabian Sea

• Disputes over contracts and production sharing agreements in the Gulf of Guinea offshore West Africa

• Defense of independent oil company against fraud and theft of trade secret claims

• Representation of major oil company with regard to OCSLA lease interpretation

• Representation of royalty owners in class action regarding crude oil pricing

• Representation of royalty owners in class action regarding royalties on natural gas

• Representation of pipeline company in acquisition of easements and condemnation claims

• Representation of pipeline company in defense of water claims by water rights owners

• Representation of landowners against pipeline companies in eminent domain proceedings

• Defense of independent producer against class action claims asserted by property owners claiming damages to homes resulting from seismic shoot in urban area

• Representation of producers in take-or-pay litigation against pipeline companies

• Representation of working interest owners in dispute over terms of acquisition agreement

• Defense of independent oil company over royalty owner fraud claims

• Arbitration in dispute between parties over construction of operating agreement

• Defense of oil company against royalty owner concerning lease terms

• Representation of bank trust company in dispute with trust beneficiaries over oil and gas royalty claims

• Representation of mineral owners under Padre Island National Seashore against National Park Service in multiple matters

• Representation of parties in probate proceedings involving duties of trustee and executor

• Arbitration of dispute between partners of a large law firm regarding provisions of the Partnership Agreement

• Representation of parties in will contest involving significant oil and gas assets

• Representation of drilling contractor against manufacturer of weight indicator on drilling rig

• Representation of large MLP pipeline company in defense of class action by shareholders

Published Works

Articles

• Author: Oil and Water – Do They Mix On the Surface?
  An Analysis and Critique of the Accommodation Doctrine and Coyote Lake Ranch, LLC v. The City of Lubbock. State Bar of Texas, Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law Section Report. Volume 41, Number 3. Spring 2017
• Author: Commentary on Jones v. Killingsworth by Dick Watt.
  Landmarks of a Century in Oil and Gas Law – Twenty Cases That Shaped Oil and Gas Jurisprudence, compiled by The Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, 2017
• Author/Speaker: Royalty Issues and Decisions
  State Bar of Texas 34th Annual Advanced Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law Course, September 29-30, 2016
• Author/Panelists: Panel Discussion: Recent Developments Involving the Conflicting Rights of Mineral Owners and Surface Owners
  42nd Annual Ernest E. Smith Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Institute, April 15, 2016
• Author/Speaker: Mediating Oil and Gas Disputes in Texas for the State Bar of Texas
  Oil and Gas Disputes 2015, January 8-9, 2015
• Author/Speaker: Flashpoints in Joint Operating Agreements, Institute for Energy Law, The Center for American and International Law, 9th Annual Energy Litigation Conference, October 12, 2010
• Co-Author: The Legal Principles Affecting Contractual Liabilities When Oil & Gas Properties Are Assigned, 20th Annual Energy Law Institute, South Texas College of Law, November 8, 2007
• Author/Speaker: Beyond the Standard Lease Form Selected Oil & Gas Lease Issues for the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, November 4-5, 2004
• Co-Author/Speaker: Royalty Litigation in 2004 An Update and a Look Ahead for the University of Texas School of Law Civil Litigation Conference, October 28-29, 2004
• Co-Author: A Litigation Perspective: Selected Thoughts on the Express Negligence Doctrine, Exculpatory Clauses, and Indemnity in Joint Operating Agreements. State Bar of Texas Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law Section Report. Volume 26, Number 1. September 2001
• Author/Speaker: Application of Discovery Rule In Oil and Gas Litigation: 1995 Update — The Plaintiffs’ Perspective for State Bar of Texas, Advanced Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Course, September 21, 1995
• Co-Author/Speaker: Drainage From A to Z for State Bar of Texas, 12th Annual Advanced Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Institute, October 6-7, 1994
• Author/Speaker: Judicial Process for Evaluating Producing and Non-Producing Oil and Gas Properties for the Austin Geological Society and Travis County Bar Association and endorsed by the State Bar of Texas, Environmental Law Section, October 8, 1994
• Author/Speaker: Marketing and Implied Covenant Litigation for the State Bar of Texas, 11th Annual Advanced Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Course, October 14, 1993
• Author/Speaker: Application of Discovery Rule in Oil and Gas Litigation for the South Texas College of Law, 6th Annual Advanced Oil & Gas Institute, July 22, 1993
• Co-Author/Speaker: To Share or Not To Share - Royalty Obligations Arising Out of Take-or-Pay or Similar Gas Contract Litigation for the Southwestern Legal Foundation 42nd Annual Institute on Oil and Gas Law and Taxation, February 21, 1991
• Author/Speaker: Sun v. Jackson: An Analysis of a Lessee’s Obligations In Texas Under the Implied Covenant of Reasonable Development in 1990 for Houston Bar Association, Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Section, April 24, 1990

Bar Admissions

• U.S. District Court Southern District of Texas
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas
• U.S. Bankruptcy Court Western District of Texas
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit

Other Affiliations

• Texas Bar Association
• Houston Bar Association
• American Bar Association