A Louisiana federal judge has ruled in support of Devon Energy in a lawsuit against Texas Pacific Oil Company.
The case involved settlement by Devon of a separate lawsuit of which TP Oil was not a party but was a beneficiary. The original suit was filed by Wichita Partnership, Ltd. against Apache Corporation and sought compensation for environmental damages allegedly caused by oil and gas exploration and production in the Second Bayou and East Mud Lake Field.
Devon was among the defendants in the 2020 lawsuit and in 2022, reached a settlement agreement that resolved all claims against the company. As part of the settlement, Devon obtained a release of the Wichita plaintiffs’ claims against TP Oil and its predecessor, even though TP Oil was not a party of the lawsuit or the settlement.
That led to Devon making a written demand of TP Oil for contribution or indemnity to recover TP Oil’s share of the money paid under the settlement and TP Oil’s share of the remedial cost to address the environmental damages. TP Oil refused and a lawsuit was filed.
In recent weeks, U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson refused to dismiss the lawsuit.