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Abstract: When oil and gas companies file for bankruptcy, federal bankruptcy judges must often interpret complex, technical state property laws, due to the interplay between property and contract law in these cases. Courts' interpretations can sometimes produce non-uniform results. This combination of state law complexity and lack of uniformity has led some to question whether bankruptcy is an appropriate forum within which to resolve issues such as the proper characterization of oil and gas leases.
This Article contends that many of the problems commonly associated with this characterization issue are perhaps not as severe as they might first appear. In particular, it examines three issues--lack of uniformity, jurisdiction, and impact--that commentators have identified as arising from the interplay of federal and state law in oil and gas bankruptcies. The Article puts these issues into context and illustrates that bankruptcy law is still a desirable and at times even necessary forum for oil and gas industry players.
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