The Daily Law Blog

Congratulations to Thomas A. Daily, member of Daily & Woods, P.L.L.C., for being named as one of the Mid-South's best lawyers again by the Super Lawyers Publication, in the area of Energy & Natural Resource law. Mr. Daily has practiced with Daily & Woods, P.L.L.C. since 1970, practicing primarily in the field of oil, gas and natural resource law in Arkansas. Mr. Daily also practices in the areas of wills, trusts, estates, and corporate law. Thomas A. Daily visit superlawyers.com C. Michael Daily  is an attorney with the long-established law  firm of  Dail y & Woods, P.L.L.C .  Mr. Daily can be cont acted by telephone at 479- 242-3953, by email at  mdaily@dailywoods.com , or by regular post at 58 South 6th Street, Fort Smith, Arkansas 729 02.  You can follow Mr.  Daily via so cial network  using any of the  social network links  in the right hand column of the p age.   Disclaimer:  This blo...

In Arkansas, for-profit corporations must pay a franchise tax to keep the corporation's charter.  Essentially, a franchise tax is a "privilege tax" imposed on corporations and other business entities, including limited liability companies and other non-exempt companies, that transact business in Arkansas.  Ark. Code Ann. 26-54-101, et seq .  An example of a non-exempt company would be a non-profit corporation, a corporation that is exempt from federal income tax, or an organization formed pursuant to the Uniform Partnership Act (1996) or the Uniform Limited Partnership Act (2001). Ark. Code Ann. 26-54-102. When it comes franchise tax compliance, there are a few deadlines to keep in mind.  All franchise taxes and reports due for the prior year must be submitted by May 1st.  In other words, the corporation's 2011 franchise taxes are due to the Secretary of State by May 1, 2012.  Otherwise, penalties will be levied and interest will accrue on the u...

Because natural gas exploration has increased in Arkansas in recent years, my clients are often negotiating land transactions where they convey the surface, but retain all or a portion of their mineral interests.  One would think that it would be simple to reserve a fractional interest in minerals from the grant, but in truth, it can be tricky.  Ask any person who has drafted a title opinion --if the deed drafter is not careful, he can be tripped up by the Duhig rule. The Duhig rule is a rule of objective deed construction that has been adopted in several mineral producing states.  The rule was borne from the Texas case Duhig v. Peavey-Moore , 135 Tex. 503, 144 S.W.2d 878 (Tex. 1940).  Several other mineral producing jurisdictions have adopted the Duhig rule, either in whole, or with modifications, including Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, North Dakota, and Wyoming. In several jurisdictions, including Arkansas,  Duhig is employed by a judge to constru...

For the last ten years I have been a mineral title lawyer and have enjoyed rendering mineral title opinions for production companies who are exploring and producing in various areas of the country, including the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas and Arkoma Basin in Western Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma.  This blog post contains portions of a paper that I recently presented to the Arkansas Bar Association at the Natural Resource Law Institute that focuses on the nuts and bolts of mineral title opinions.   I. The Purpose of the Mineral Title Opinion A mineral title opinion is an important written communication between an attorney and his or her oil and gas client. A thorough examination will reveal whether a given tract is marketable. If title is not marketable, the examiner will note the title objections and suggest curative measures. The title opinion will serve various members of the same organization and be used in many different ways.  For examp...