Timothy S. McConn

Upstream

• Currently representing public exploration and production company as plaintiff (mineral and royalty owner) in $100 plus million royalty dispute with operator.
• Currently representing private exploration and production company as plaintiff in nine-figure dispute with Pioneer related to wrongful interference with and acquisition of clients’ rights in extremely valuable Delaware Basin leases.
• Currently representing public exploration and production company as defendant against claims that client breached obligations to co-working interest owners regarding expiring leases in the Texas Panhandle. Plaintiffs claim damages in excess of $200 million. Court granted multiple summary judgments disposing of all claims against all parties, including award to client of $5 million in attorneys’ fees. Texas Supreme Court affirmed. Case is currently on remand to court of appeals regarding damages question.
• Currently representing public exploration and production company as defendant in significant lease termination dispute with top lessor in the Delaware Basin.
• Currently representing public exploration and production company as defendant in dispute with co-working interest owners related to client’s refusal to drill Eagle Ford wells proposed by plaintiffs under parties’ joint operating agreement. Trial court granted summary judgment in all respects for client. Case is currently on appeal.
• Represented two oil and gas producers in separate royalty class actions in Oklahoma. Both cases settled after successful motion practice, including a landmark decision denying Plaintiffs’ claim to tens of millions of dollars of interest charges under Oklahoma’s Production Revenue Standards Act.
• Represented private exploration and production company in dispute with public exploration and production company over holdback and indemnity obligations following sale of Bakken Shale assets. Case settled just before trial on favorable terms.
• Represented private exploration and production company in a month-long trial in which Boone Pickens claimed the client breached an AMI agreement regarding valuable Delaware Basin acreage. The case later settled on confidential terms.
• Represented private exploration and production company in dispute over title to valuable Delaware Basin acreage in New Case settled favorably after Midland County, Texas court dismissed plaintiff’s suit and client pursued countersuit in New Mexico.
• Represented family trust royalty owner in dispute with other royalty owners regarding community lease. Case settled on eve of trial after court granted summary judgment as to plaintiffs’ main claim and found no evidence of damages as to other claim.
• Represented oil and gas producer in dispute over claims that client underpaid overriding royalty interest related to natural gas production in West Virginia. Case settled on favorable terms.
• Represented oil and gas industry consultant in a suit for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty in connection with seismic acquisition project in Lavaca County, After a week-long trial, client won a unanimous defense verdict on all claims.
• Represented exploration and production company in numerous royalty underpayment disputes in various South Texas. All cases settled on favorable terms.
• Represented overriding royalty interest owner in dispute with major operator in Oklahoma. Case settled on favorable terms shortly after lawsuit was filed and without any formal discovery.
• Represented exploration and production company in a dispute over the right of first refusal concerning significant lease position in Permian Plaintiff eight-figure damages and title to the lease but ultimately agreed to settle for a small fraction of demand and client retained the lease.
• Won on all claims and secured multi-million million award (including attorney fees) in an arbitration related to contract for manufacture of sand silo transport trailers used in hydraulic fracking.

Midstream

• Currently representing bankruptcy trustee as plaintiff in a $500 million suit against Plains All American Pipeline in Santa Barbara, California arising out of May 2015 rupture of Plains Line 901.
• Currently representing private midstream company in breach of contract lawsuits with oil and gas producers related to failure to satisfy minimum volume commitments under transportation and sales agreements.
• Currently representing private midstream company in significant dispute with public midstream company over valuable assets in Eagle Ford Basin.
• Represented Oklahoma exploration and production company in dispute with midstream company over dedication of leases and wells to gathering system.
• Represented midstream company in two two-week arbitrations involving claims that contractor breached the parties’ contract by virtue of failing to construct natural gas processing facility in accordance with parties’ contract. The outcome of the arbitration is confidential.

General Commercial

• Currently representing prominent energy executive in $100 million dispute with his personal lenders. Case was tried to federal judge in December 2023 and is currently in post-trial proceedings.
• Represented IBM in $1.6 billion contract and fraud dispute with BMC Software that resulted in complete take-nothing judgment in IBM’s favor.
• Represented founder of LNG company in $500 million breach of fiduciary duty dispute with former company. Adversary nonsuited all claims with prejudice for no compensation on eve of trial after court designated adversary’s Board members as responsible third parties and excluded adversary’s experts on fiduciary duty issues.
• Represented prominent national law firm and two former partners against $50 million legal malpractice claims stemming from patent and intellectual property advice. Trial court granted two summary judgments in clients’ favor and court of appeals affirmed.