Tellus Operating Group, LLC v. Texas Petroleum Investment Co.

' KITCHENS, Justice,

for the Court:

¶ 1. The plaintiffs (collectively “Tellus”) alleged that they owned the “shallow gas” rights from the earth’s surface to a depth of 8,000 feet in a tract of land known as the Bilbo A Lease. While ownership of the shallow gas was disputed, all parties agreed that the defendants (collectively “TPIC”) owned the gas rights below 8,000 feet and the oil rights in both the shallow and ■ deep zones. In 2004, Tellus sued TPIC, alleging that it had produced Tel-lus’s shallow gas through one if its wells known as the A-l well. After much pretrial litigation and a…