We represented Pioneer Natural Resources Company and Pioneer Natural Resources USA, Inc. in a complex matter in which certain investors in the Mesa Offshore Royalty Trust sued Pioneer, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., and Woodside Energy (USA), Inc. in connection with the development of certain offshore oil and gas properties. Plaintiffs alleged Defendants attempted to improperly terminate the Trust and sought damages in excess of $1 billion. We were retained in the summer of 2007 to prepare the case for trial—at that point, the litigation had already been on file for two years. In early 2009, a settlement was reached between the parties, including Pioneer, its co-Defendants and Plaintiffs. But the settlement process was not concluded until September 2009, and only after the trial court presided over several contested evidentiary settlement hearings in which various investor/intervenors participated and objected.
