Top Lease Vultures: Title Failure, Bad Faith Pooling, and the Validity of Top Leases in the Texas Shale Plays

Addresses questions of lease validity in the aftermath of title failure due to bad faith pooling. Part II begins by discussing the historical context of the Texas shale plays and the technologies acting as the impetus for the new opportunities and dilemmas. This section also provides background information on how oil companies maintain their leases against expiration of all or parts of nonproducing leases. Part III focuses on lease expiration, identifying several potential sources of litigation associated with pooling and title in the shale plays. Part IV discusses the validity of top leases after expiration of a bottom lease under problematic clauses such as those discussed in the previous section. After identifying problems in bottom and top leasing in the shale plays, Part V proposes solutions to these dilemmas.