UNION OIL COMPANY OF CALIFORNIA V. OSPREY PETROLEUM COMPANY, INC., ET AL.

We represented Unocal in an action against Osprey, a working interest owner in nine oil and gas wells drilled by Unocal in the Gulf of Mexico between 2001 and 2003, that was pending in Corpus Christi state court.  Prior to our involvement in the case, Unocal sued Osprey to recover unpaid expenses incurred in drilling the wells.  Osprey counterclaimed against Unocal for fraud, breach of contract, gross negligence, and products liability in connection with problems encountered during the drilling of the wells and sought damages from Unocal in excess of $350 million.

Gibbs & Bruns took over the representation of Unocal a few months before trial and conducted the majority of the discovery in the case, including almost all of the fact depositions and all of the expert discovery.  We then obtained dismissal of all of Osprey’s claims against Unocal on summary judgment a few weeks before trial was set to begin.  The case was resolved favorably shortly thereafter.