Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by VSC DeSoto South on July 20, 2009 at 9:38

How much should one expect to be charged for normal amount of pipeline negotiation legal services?
If they just want the the normal land protections and fair market timber compensation, and reasonable amoutn of easement width, nothing out of the ordinary no conflict amongst landowner family?
Is this 4 hours of billable hours time, 10 hours?

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Permalink Reply by adubu on July 20, 2009 at 10:32

A good attorney should already have standard ROW forms drawn up. Fill in blank legal should only take ~one hour billable time for discussion with you on details,etc plus 1/2 hr for legal asst. to type it up. If the attorney edited the O&G standard form he could do it within one hour. Especially if you had the pipeline co. email the ROW agreement in pdf or words format then forward to attorney for editing and then back to Pipeline Co. to print off and bring final agreed by you the hard copy with check for you to sign. In future always negotitate the fee up front for anytype legal work in oil & gas like leasees, row, or whatever. Hourly or flat rate fee variable by attorney. This is what I learned last year on some deals. Wish I had negotiated on the first one. Still the attorney's help was worth the money

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Permalink Reply by Bobi Carr ("parker") on July 20, 2009 at 11:38

adubu,

In my opinion, you get what you pay for. The best advice that I can give is to hire an Oil & Gas attorney. One that was an oil and gas attorney BEFORE the HS.

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Permalink Reply by insomniacnla on July 20, 2009 at 14:58

Parker,

You're are so right. It is not only the dollar amount in your ROW agreement that is important. It is finding out exactly what you are getting into and exactly what the company plans to do. If someone is not experienced in these sort of matters, they should seek the advice of a professional that does, because they will be stuck with their Agreement for years most likely.

No two leases, ROWs, etc. are exactly the same as another and should be tailored to meet the specific landowner's needs and concerns. An experienced attorney also should know what the landowner needs to look out for and can advise their client accordingly. And I bet that type of attorney will not be the least expensive and it will take more than an hour.

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Permalink Reply by adubu on July 20, 2009 at 15:25

insomniacnia and parker that what I said the attorney was worth the money--the attorney I used had 30 years in oil & gas---I simply said you should ASK about fees before blindly entering into professional services contract--then negoitate in business like discussion what the attorneys fee would be rather than getting big surprise bill later. Unless it a very complex ROW it not going to take 4-10 hours.

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Permalink Reply by Eat Beef on October 29, 2008 at 17:14

Skip, I guess I have a fear of showing an attorney my ROW, demands, and having him say, "Those items are not valid, or maybe, telling me, I should look for a common ground, where I can live with it. Accept what they are going to do to my land, and the future of my property.
Skip, do you know of anyone, that Randy Davidson, has helped, in the Oil & Gas ROW's?

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on October 30, 2008 at 0:54

Eat Beef. I do not know a ROW client of Mr. Davidson. I have had several discussions on ROW with him and find him to be quite knowledgeable. One suggestion that I recall from those conversations was disregard rods and think in square feet. Convert the ROW easement to square feet. Whatever property sold for in your area prior to the HS (surface value, no minerals, you will retain those), convert that value to square feet by dividing by 43,560 feet. Then apply that value to the total sq. ft. of the requested ROW. Dollar value is not everything. He pointed out numerous contractual terms that were also of significance. I am not a lawyer. In these matters, I would get the best one that I could. And realize that price has many variables and is only a portion of the overall agreement. You do not have to "accept" any agreement terms that you are not comfortable with. Let them go around your property. But realize that it is just a business decision for them. If you are asking more than what it would cost them to by-pass your property, they will go around. Time is money. It's not a situation where they can afford to wait an extended period of time. Good Luck.

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Permalink Reply by Eat Beef on October 30, 2008 at 2:42

Skip, Thank You.
I did go from rods to feet with these guys. They offered me $7.00 a foot and I ask for $25.00. That's what really ticked them off. They want to tell me what my property is worth, by the acre and use that "low" amount to beat me down.
Yes, it is just a business decision for them, and they want to make themselves look good at their job. And, guess what, they can't go around my land...I have 350 acres, and they must go across it at the widest point. Their company is doing another ROW, just up the road at this time. I am going to take some pictures of that location. However, it is dry now, and they are working in dry sandy soil. But, when they want to work on my ROW, it will be in January 2009, and it will be (river bottom) wet, I'm talking about them having to pump mud out of the ditch before they can even lay the pipe. The torn up ground will look bad, hold water, until it dries up enough for them to fix it, and that will be maybe 6 months later...and if I don't get all this in the agreement, they might not come back and fix things at all.
I'm going to call an attorney today, and just see what my options are.

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Permalink Reply by Bobi Carr ("parker") on October 30, 2008 at 2:59

Eat Beef,

I am using Mr. Davidson for a ROW agreement. We are still working on it, but I have been very happy with him and everyone else in his office. They are all very helpful.

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Permalink Reply by Eat Beef on October 30, 2008 at 3:24

How do I work the cost of my attorney into the ROW contract?

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Permalink Reply by Bobi Carr ("parker") on October 30, 2008 at 3:33

Eat Beef,

I don't know.

I have felt like the services were worth the expense for me.

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Permalink Reply by adubu on October 30, 2008 at 3:15

KB----Thanks this is what I needed---adubu

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