You can’t just bury your problems (or pipelines): The Byrne Oil decision

In Bryne Oil Co. v. Walraven¹Byrne Oil Co. v. Walraven, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 7216., the Eastland Court of Appeals (the “Court”) considered whether a lessor may bury a lessee’s pipelines after the lessee delays doing so and then seek reimbursement for the cost of burial.²Id. at 1. The Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that a lessor cannot resort to self-help remedies to bury pipelines and therefore was not entitled to recover compensatory damages for the cost of burial.³Id. at 24, 25.

Bryne Oil Co. (“Bryne”), successor lessor under a “Producer’s 88” lease (the “Lease”), was bound by a clause requiring that “[w]hen requested by lessor, lessee shall bury pipeline[s] below plow depth” (the “Pipeline Provision”). In 2016, Joe Walraven (“Walraven”) purchased both the surface and royalty interest in the leased tract and sent a written request that Bryne bury over 10,000 feet of above ground pipelines.⁴Id. at 2.

Bryne filed suit in February 2019 seeking to enjoin Walraven from interfering with the pipelines. Walraven counterclaimed for breach of the Lease and sought injunctive relief to prevent Bryne from obstructing his use of the land. While litigation was pending, Bryne offered to relocate the flow lines instead of burying them, but Walraven declined.⁵Id. at 6, 7.

At trial, Bryne claimed that Walraven’s 2016 letter was not a proper request because it failed to provide the sixty (60) day notice required under the Lease. Further, Bryne testified that pipeline burial was never discussed in person. A subsequent 2018 letter from Walraven, contradicted Bryne’s account, stating that he had made multiple verbal and written requests for pipeline burial, and Walraven warned that he would begin plowing the property in early 2019. Bryne’s counsel responded that Walraven lacked the right to demand burial, prompting Walraven’s attorney to again cite the Pipeline Provision and threaten to remove the lines himself and seek reimbursement.⁶Id. at 5. Bryne later paid a contractor $7,385.66 in August 2020 to bury most of the lines. In April 2021, Walraven hired US Ecology to bury the additional flow lines, despite Bryne’s written objections, paying $60,240.29 for the work.⁷Id. at 6, 7.

Following a bench trial in January 2023, the court found that Bryne failed to timely bury the pipelines and awarded Walraven a portion of damages equal to his burial costs, finding Walraven’s costs to be excessive when compared to Bryne’s costs.⁸Id. Bryne appealed, arguing Texas law and the Lease do not permit self-help trespass; and challenged the award of attorney’s fees.⁹Id.

In its analysis, the Court first considered whether the lease limited the lessor’s remedies, nothing that the lease was silent on remedies for breach of the Pipeline Provision and that no Texas case law authorizes self-help to enforce a pipeline burial clause.¹⁰Id. at 10, 15. The Court concluded that Bryne’s failure to bury the pipelines constituted a nuisance, not a trespass, as it interfered with Walraven’s use and enjoyment of the land rather than his exclusive possession.¹¹Id. at 16. While nuisance claims may allow for damages, injunctive relief, or self-help abatement,¹²Id. at 19. the Court, citing Martin v. Martin,¹³Martin v. Martin, 246 S.W.2d 718, 719-20 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1952, no writ). reaffirmed that self-help abatement in unavailable when adequate judicial remedies exist.¹⁴W. Keeton, D. Dobbs, R. Keeton, & D. Owen, Prosser and Keeton On Torts § 89, at 641 (5th ed. 1984), Houck v. Kroger Co., 555 S.W.2d 803, 806 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1977, writ ref’d n.r.e.).

Texas does not recognize ‘self-help repossession’ of property.¹⁵Lighthouse Church of Cloverleaf v. Texas Bank, 889 S.W.2d 595, 603 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1994, writ denied). The Court emphasized people have the right to remove structures placed on their property without consent, but that right is only granted by the judicial system.¹⁶Allen v. Virginia Hill Water Supply Corp., 609 S.W.2d 633, 635 (Tex. App.—Tyler 1980, no writ).  The pipelines were not placed without Walraven’s consent; they were there before he owned the land, and there were no burial requests from the previous owner.¹⁷Byrne Oil Co. v. Walraven at 23, 24. The law prefers judicial intervention over a self-help remedy when there is enough time to pursue legal action.¹⁸Id. at 21.

Because litigation had been pending for more than two years before Walraven hired US Ecology to bury the remaining pipelines, the Court held that he was barred from employing self-help abatement. The Court emphasized that allowing a surface owner to disturb a lessee’s equipment risks environmental harm and production disruption, and the frustration does not justify bypassing judicial remedies.¹⁹Id. at 23, 24. Accordingly, the Court reversed $30,000.00 in compensatory damages and $125,000.00 in attorney’s fees awarded to Walraven, but affirmed $1,869.32 in unchallenged damages.²⁰Id. at 26.

This decision underscores that Texas courts disfavor self-help remedies in the midst of litigation and reiterates the importance of pursuing relief through the judicial process rather than taking unilateral action.

Law clerk Lizzie Peck contributed to this article.

Footnotes

• 1
  Byrne Oil Co. v. Walraven, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 7216.
• 2
  Id. at 1.
• 3
  Id. at 24, 25.
• 4
  Id. at 2.
• 5
  Id. at 6, 7.
• 6
  Id. at 5.
• 7
  Id. at 6, 7.
• 8
  Id.
• 9
  Id.
• 10
  Id. at 10, 15.
• 11
  Id. at 16.
• 12
  Id. at 19.
• 13
  Martin v. Martin, 246 S.W.2d 718, 719-20 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1952, no writ).
• 14
  W. Keeton, D. Dobbs, R. Keeton, & D. Owen, Prosser and Keeton On Torts § 89, at 641 (5th ed. 1984), Houck v. Kroger Co., 555 S.W.2d 803, 806 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1977, writ ref’d n.r.e.).
• 15
  Lighthouse Church of Cloverleaf v. Texas Bank, 889 S.W.2d 595, 603 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1994, writ denied).
• 16
  Allen v. Virginia Hill Water Supply Corp., 609 S.W.2d 633, 635 (Tex. App.—Tyler 1980, no writ). 
• 17
  Byrne Oil Co. v. Walraven at 23, 24.
• 18
  Id. at 21.
• 19
  Id. at 23, 24.
• 20
  Id. at 26.