A Texas Court of Appeals heard arguments last week from the attorneys of an Eagle Ford family who wants their day in court.
In a lawsuit filed in 2013, Michael and Myra Cerny claim that oil drilling near their Karnes county residence has caused numerous health issues and made their home unlivable. The case was thrown out last year by Judge Stella Saxson who ruled the family did not prove their allegations that gas emissions caused the family’s issues.
All parties are back in court hoping to persuade the three-judge panel that the Cerny family deserves a jury trial.
Macy Stokes, one of the attorneys representing Marathon Oil and Plains Exploration, argued that nothing has changed since the August ruling and that,
“They still have to prove causation, that the emissions caused this inconvenience, that the emissions actually made it to their property and inconvenienced them.”
Other recent Texas legal battles between oil companies and mineral owners include a case before the Texas Supreme Court last month where Chesapeake challenges a 2014 Appeals Court ruling that would cost them at least $1million. At the heart of the case is the property owners (Hyders) allegations that Chesapeake improperly deducted money from their royalty checks to cover post-production costs.
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