Heartland Energy Obtains Summary Judgment in Oil & Gas Dispute

LAREDO, Texas, April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- A state district judge in Laredo, Texas, has granted summary judgment for Heartland Energy Land Operating, LP, (HELO) in a lawsuit against companies owned by S. Lavon Evans, Jr.

The summary judgment was issued by Judge Elma Teresa Salinas Ender in the 341st District Court in Webb County, Texas. The judgment invalidates three liens filed by E&D Services Inc. and S. Lavon Evans, Jr. Operating Co., Inc. seeking nearly $4.3 million.

HELO serves as the designee and holds the working interests in oil & gas wells owned by various joint ventures managed by HEI Resources Inc. within the Los Ojuelos Mineral Trust in Webb County. S. Lavon Evans, Jr. Operating Co., Inc. served as the operator of these wells.

However, according to the lawsuit, Mr. Evans made fraudulent claims to Gulfmark Energy, the company that was purchasing the oil produced from the wells, in an attempted scam to receive all oil revenue from the producing wells. After being notified of Mr. Evans' conduct by HELO and HEI Resources, Gulfmark ceased making any revenue payments to Mr. Evans.

Mr. Evans' companies then proceeded to file three separate liens seeking more than $4.3 million for work supposedly completed on the wells, but the judge's ruling has declared that those liens are unenforceable.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Evans' actions reflect a bad pattern of fraud and deception," says Mikel Bowers, an attorney with Dallas' Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP, counsel for HELO. "Protecting the interests of joint venture partners is a main priority for HEI Resources and HELO, and this case is just one example that shows how far they are willing to go to support their partners."

The summary judgment also establishes that Evans and his companies have no claim to the oil revenue from the Webb County wells currently held by Gulfmark Energy. Attorneys for HELO say that ruling clears the way for the company to receive more than $450,000 in revenue currently held by Gulfmark. That payment will then be distributed to various joint venture partnerships managed by HEI Resources.

The final judgment was issued April. 6, 2010. The case is Heartland Energy Land Operating, LP v. S. Lavon Evans, Jr. Operating Co., Inc. et al., No. 2009-CVQ-001943-D3.

Earlier this year, a federal judge in Laredo, Texas, issued a final judgment in a separate case ordering S. Lavon Evans, Jr. and his companies to pay more than $8.73 million to a joint venture managed by HEI Resources.

For more information, contact Alan Bentrup at 800-559-4534 or [email protected].

SOURCE Bell Nunnally & Martin LLP