In June 2018, the Dallas Court of Appeals issued its memorandum opinion in Tollet v. Surface, holding that an ambiguous royalty provision in a groundwater lease, when read in light of the parties’ course of dealings, allowed the lessee to make royalty payments once per month with a 90-day grace period. The court also reviewed the landowner’s “course of conduct,” including a “continual failure” for four years to demand strict performance of royalty timing and metering provisions, and held that this resulted in a waiver of the lessee’s breach of those provisions.
Water companies and oil and gas operators alike may be interested in this case, as it underscores the importance of carefully drafting royalty and metering provisions, and illustrates the use of a “waiver” defense in a breach of lease case.
