Overview

Tyler Weidlich represents a range of clients, from pipeline companies, oil and gas well operators, and field service companies to emerging energy companies, construction companies and international insurance underwriters. His litigation experience covers numerous aspects of the oil and gas and other extractive industries, including upstream and midstream contractual disputes, personal injury and products liability, blowouts and downhole well damage, sinkholes, well site access, subsurface trespass, environmental and toxic-tort claims as well as royalty, title and mineral lease disputes. In the course of his practice, Tyler regularly works with experts on complex metallurgical, geophysical, engineering, operational, and related technical matters.

Tyler also has substantial experience representing pipeline and other energy companies in eminent domain cases. He represents companies in every stage of condemnation, including negotiating the acquisition of property rights to avoid litigation as well as immediate possession and valuation proceedings.

In addition to his upstream and midstream litigation work, Tyler has substantial experience in lien enforcement and bankruptcy matters in Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Wyoming, Louisiana, and Utah. His work includes representing creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, construction and mineral lien disputes, and foreclosure on mineral assets.

Before joining Beatty & Wozniak, Tyler spent more than a decade at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz in New Orleans, where he represented energy and insurance clients in high-stakes litigation, including mass tort and first-party claims arising out of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Gustav.

He is also an accomplished writer and speaker on energy and natural resources law, having published and presented on topics ranging from offshore safety regulations to fracking litigation to the evolving role of water use in oil and gas development.

Representative Experience

  • Successful representation of oil and gas operator and its underwriters in a $25 million lawsuit arising out of a failed coiled tubing operation, including successful prosecution of breach of contract and negligence claims against well contractors. A favorable settlement was reached during trial for the majority of the clients’ damages.
  • Obtained a $12.8 million judgment for oil and gas operator and its underwriters in bench trial involving a well control event arising from an equipment failure.
  • Successful representation of a major natural gas producer and its underwriters in a lawsuit arising from an onshore well blowout, including successful prosecution of breach of contract and products liability claims against wellhead manufacturers and contractors. After the close of the clients’ case, a favorable settlement was reached between the parties.
  • Represented interstate natural gas pipeline company as potential condemnee in eminent domain actions involving various municipal governments and public utilities.
  • Represented gathering and pipeline companies as potential condemnees in connection with the City of Thornton’s waterline project.
  • Extensive representation of operators, lessees and lessors in mineral title and royalty disputes implicating a variety of property law and land related issues, including navigable water bottoms, establishing surface water boundaries, division orders, chaining title, and succession/heirship matters.
  • Lead counsel for midstream creditor in adversary proceeding associated with the In re Badlands Energy, Inc. bankruptcy and secured a ruling that a gathering and processing agreement and saltwater disposal agreement each constitute “covenants running with the land,” which cannot be sold free and clear under 11 U.S.C. § 363. The ruling was the first to distinguish the landmark decision, In re Sabine Oil & Gas Corp.
  • Managed large docket of interpleader actions on behalf of oil and gas operator involving royalty and mineral title disputes.
  • Obtained the complete dismissal of a $5 million personal injury claim against an oil and gas operator brought by a permanently disabled worker.
  • Litigated and negotiated a favorable settlement for a natural gas producer in a mass action filed by community residents following a well blowout.
  • Successful representation of an oil and gas operator facing default under a joint operating agreement in an injunction action to enforce a conventional servitude and obtain access to a well site.
  • Member of legal team representing one of the nation’s largest aggregates companies in litigation pending in state and federal court arising from a sinkhole associated with a brine mining cavern.
  • Represented natural gas pipeline company as condemnor in state and federal proceedings to acquire servitudes for the construction of multiple pipelines traversing various regions of Louisiana.
  • Defense of multiple oil and gas companies in “legacy lawsuits” seeking remediation of alleged surface and subsurface contamination.
  • Represented lenders in connection with foreclosure on mineral assets covering several thousands of acres in multiple counties in Colorado.
  • Representation of upstream and midstream companies in a variety of bankruptcy disputes, including claim objections, cash collateral rights, automatic stay relief, 363 sales, and assumption or rejection of executory contracts.
  • Representation of operators, service companies and construction companies in the defense and prosecution of oil well liens, mechanic’s liens, and related priority claims.

Professional Affiliations

  • Project PAVE, Board member (2023-2025)
  • American Bar Association’s Environmental & Energy Litigation Committee, Publications Subcommittee
  • Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, Member

Honors & Awards

  • Listed as a Louisiana Rising Star in Energy & Resources by Louisiana Super Lawyers, 2015 – 2017
  • Named as New Orleans City Business “Ones to Watch,” April 2014

Published Works

  • Colorado Bankruptcy Court Distinguishes the Landmark Decision, In re Sabine Oil & Gas Corp., National Association of Lease and Title Analysts Publication, December 2019
  • Lender Beware: Lender Held Liable for Borrower’s Failure to Release Mineral Lease, ABA Section of Litigation, Environmental and Energy Litigation, 2017
  • Sinkhole Litigation – Problems and Prospects, Louisiana State Bar Association’s Energy and Environmental Law Summit, 2014
  • Co-author, States Focusing On Water Usage Rights Issues, The American Oil and Gas Reporter, 2013
  • Oil Companies Denied Indemnification in WWII Remediation Costs, ABA Section of Litigation, Energy Litigation, 2013
  • Co-author, Anti-fracking Suits Face Formidable Hurdles, The National Law Journal, 2012
  • New Mex. High Court Favors Oil/Gas Companies in Royalty Dispute, ABA Section of Litigation, Energy Litigation, 2012
  • Co-author, A Light at the End of the Tunnel? BOEMRE Clarifies New Safety Regulations for Deepwater Drilling and Issues First Permits After Moratorium, Louisiana Oil and Gas Association Industry Report, 2011
  • The Mining Law Continuum: Is There a Contemporary Prospect for Reform?, 44 Brandeis L.J. 955, 2006

Prior Experience

  • Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, Shareholder, 2006 to 2017

Presentations

  • Mineral Owner Lawsuits – Subsurface Access, Colorado Alliance of Mineral and Royalty Owners (CAMRO) Annual Conference, 2025
  • Water Supply and Production During Oil and Gas Development: Legal and Regulatory Implications, Denver Association of Lease and Title Analysts, 2018
  • Development of Water Laws: Quantity, Quality and Usage, Louisiana Water Laws and Regulations Seminar, Halfmoon Seminars, 2017
  • Water Use in Onshore Natural Gas and Petroleum Production and Development, Louisiana Water Laws and Regulations Seminar, Halfmoon Seminars, 2012

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