Lexis Legal News : Mealey's Fracking : Lawsuit Filings, Litigation, Settlements, Verdicts and Court News

Mealey's Fracking

January 23, 2020
Fund Moves To Appoint Lead Plaintiff In Fracking Securities Fraud Class Action

PHILADELPHIA — The Allegheny County Employees’ Retirement System (AERS) on Jan. 21 moved in a Pennsylvania federal court for the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico to be appointed as lead plaintiff in a class action against a hydraulic fracturing pipeline company, the executives of which the plaintiffs say committed securities fraud and coerced a Pennsylvania agency to get approval for the Mariner East 2 pipeline (Allegheny County Employees’ Retirement System v. Energy Transfer LP, et al., No. 20-200, E.D. Pa.).
January 22, 2020
Pennsylvania High Court: Fracking Rule Of Capture Stands, Case Vacated, Remanded

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Jan. 22 vacated and remanded a case regarding the rule of capture, concluding that developers who conduct hydraulic fracturing operations may rely on pressure differentials to drain oil and gas from under another person’s property, at least in the absence of a physical invasion (Adam Briggs, et al. v. Southwestern Energy Production Company, No. 63MAP, 2018, Pa. Sup., 2020 Pa. LEXIS 343).
January 17, 2020
Groups: U.S. Forest Service May Not Grant Right To Build Pipeline On Federal Land

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Environmental groups on Jan. 15 filed a response brief in the U.S. Supreme Court contending that the Appalachian Trail cannot be separated from the land that constitutes it; therefore, neither the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) nor any other federal agency can grant an oil or gas pipeline right-of-way that crosses the trail on federal land (Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association, et al., No. 18-1587, U.S. Forest Service, et al. v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association, et al., No. 18-1584, U.S. Sup. [consolidated]).
January 13, 2020
Right To Intervene In Delaware River Basin Fracking Case Debated At 3rd Circuit

PHILADELPHIA — An attorney for three Pennsylvania state senators and counsel for the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) on Dec. 9 debated at the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals the senators’ right to intervene in a lawsuit over hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River Basin (DRB), with the senators’ attorney insisting that “it’s hard to see how the senators don’t have an interest” in the case (Wayne Land and Mineral Group LLC v. Delaware River Basin Commission, No. 19-2354, 3rd Cir.).
January 13, 2020
National Monuments Cases Against President Trump Valid, Group Says

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on Jan. 9 moved in District of Columbia federal court for partial summary judgment in consolidated lawsuits against the Trump administration concerning the reduction in size of national monuments, which would allow access to land for hydraulic fracturing, contending that there is no genuine issue of disputed material fact and, therefore, all of the plaintiffs in the consolidated actions are entitled to judgment as a matter of law (Hopi Tribe, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2590; Utah Diné Bikéyah, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2605; and Natural Resources Defense Council, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2606, D. D.C. [consolidated]).
January 13, 2020
Panel Says Implied Covenant Of Development Not Violated In Fracking Lease Dispute

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — An Ohio appellate panel on Dec. 9 affirmed a lower court ruling and held that a landowner’s claim for breach of contract regarding a hydraulic fracturing lease was properly dismissed because the implied covenant of reasonable development had not been violated (Thomas J. Pavsek v. Will Wade, No. 18 MO 0024, Ohio App., 7th Dist., Monroe Co., 2019 Ohio App. 5330).
January 13, 2020
Landowners’ Mineral Rights Challenge Is Without Merit, Federal Judge Rules

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Dec. 18 ruled that landowners’ challenges to the mineral rights in a disputed deed were without merit and held that the commonwealth of Pennsylvania rightfully holds subsurface rights to oil and gas available for hydraulic fracturing (Pennsylvania, et al. v. Thomas E. Proctor Heirs Trust, et al., No. 12-1567, M.D. Pa., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 217042).
January 13, 2020
Retirement Funds Say Fracking Company Committed Fraud, Amend Class Action

PITTSBURGH — Several retirement funds on Dec. 6 filed an amended federal securities class action in Pennsylvania federal court against a hydraulic fracturing company and some of its executives, contending that they violated the Securities Exchange Act (SEA) and Securities Exchange Commission regulations by committing securities fraud and engaging in insider trading (In re EQT Corporation Securities Litigation, No. 19-754, W.D. Pa.).
January 13, 2020
Fracking Company: Drilling Contractor Breached Agreement

BISMARCK, N.D. — A hydraulic fracturing company on Dec. 12 sued a contractor in North Dakota federal court, contending that it violated the contract between the parties related to the design and drilling of new wells in North Dakota (Wave Petroleum Operating LLC v. New IPT Inc., No. 19-272, D. N.D.).
January 13, 2020
Landowners: Court Erred; Solar Facility Interfered With Mineral Rights

EL PASO, Texas — Texas landowners on Dec. 3 filed a brief in a state appeals court contending that a lower court erred when it granted summary judgment dismissal to a solar energy company in a dispute over claims that the construction of a solar energy facility on a tract of land prevented them from accessing the mineral rights underneath that land that had potential for hydraulic fracturing (Kenneth R. Lyle, et al. v. Midway Solar LLC, et al., No. 08-19-00216, Texas App., 8th Dist., 2019 Tx. App. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 4265).
January 13, 2020
Company: Fracking Operator Breached Agreement For Sale Of Wells, Property Rights

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A hydraulic fracturing company on Dec. 26 sued an oil and gas exploration company in Wyoming federal court contending that it has breached the agreement the parties reached concerning the sale of property rights, leasehold interests and natural gas wells (Devon Energy Production Company LP v. Justice Oil & Gas LLC, et al., No. 19-267, D. Wyo.).
January 13, 2020
Panel: Leaseholder Not Owed Royalties; Previous Landowner Did Not Waive Rights

FORT WORTH, Texas — A Texas appellate panel on Dec. 19 affirmed a lower court ruling that a landowner was not entitled to royalties from hydraulic fracturing operations on a disputed tract of land because the previous owner of the land did not waive her rights (Richard D. Crawford v. XTO Energy Inc., No. 02-18-00217, Texas App., 2nd Dist., Fort Worth, 2019 Tex. App. LEXIS 11066).
January 10, 2020
Group: Judgment Valid In Its National Monument Case Against Trump Administration

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Wilderness Society on Jan. 9 moved for partial summary judgment in District of Columbia federal court, contending that there is no genuine issue of disputed material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law in its lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump related to his executive order that reduced the size of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSNM), which the group says was partly motivated by a desire to access land for hydraulic fracturing (The Wilderness Society, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2587, Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2591, D. D.C. [consolidated]).
January 10, 2020
Tribes’ Claims Against Trump Over Pipeline Permit Survive Dismissal Bids

GREAT FALLS, Mont. — A Montana federal judge on Dec. 20 refused to dismiss claims by two Native American tribes that President Trump violated treaties, federal law and the U.S. Constitution by issuing a permit last year allowing work to continue on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline (Rosebud Sioux Tribe, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 4:18-cv-118, D. Mont., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 223887).
January 09, 2020
Fracking Company Asks Delaware Supreme Court To Find That IPO Violated Contract

WILMINGTON, Del. — A hydraulic fracturing field services company on Jan. 7 filed its appeal brief in the Delaware Supreme Court contending that a lower court erred when it declared that a clause facilitating an initial public offering (IPO) authorized the other members of its energy company and investment fund to unilaterally exercise certain powers of the board of directors to proceed with the IPO (Williams Field Services Group LLC v. Caiman Energy II, et al., No. 488, 2019, Del. Sup.).
January 08, 2020
Fracking Emissions Estimates Fit Development Scenario, Interior Secretary Says

DENVER — Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt on Jan. 7 filed an answer in Colorado federal court contending that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) estimates of emissions associated with oil and gas production were consistent with the “reasonably foreseeable” development scenario for an area where hydraulic fracturing is proposed (Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. United States Bureau of Land Management, et al., No. 19-2869, D. Colo.).
January 08, 2020
Pennsylvania High Court Quashes Appeals Of Chapter 78 Fracking Regulations

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Dec. 24 quashed two appeals without prejudice, one by a hydraulic fracturing trade group and the other by a state environmental agency, each of which took issue with a Commonwealth Court decision regarding the statutory authority of state agencies to set fracking regulations. The Supreme Court did not elaborate on its decisions in the orders (The Marcellus Shale Coalition v. Department of Environmental Protection of Pennsylvania, et al., No. 66 MAP 2019 and No. 68 MAP 2019, Pa. Sup.).
January 08, 2020
Judge Grants Extension To Interior Secretary Bernhardt In Fracking Lease Dispute

DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado on Dec. 12 granted a motion by Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt seeking an extension of time in which to answer a complaint filed by environmental advocacy groups that sued the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) contending that they violated federal law when they approved a plan to open more than 1 million acres for hydraulic fracturing in Colorado. The order, which was issued only as a docket entry, also granted Bernhardt’s motion to file truncated responses to the claim (Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. United States Bureau of Land Management, et al., No. 19-2869, D. Colo.).
January 07, 2020
Panel: Landowners’ Lawsuit Contending Fracking Leases Were Not Valid Fails

HARRISBURG, Pa. — In an unpublished opinion, an appellate panel in Pennsylvania on Jan. 3 affirmed a lower court ruling that dismissed a complaint filed by landowners who contended that hydraulic fracturing leases they entered were not valid. The panel said the evidence showed that the landowners ratified the contracts in question (Donald Wilson, et al. v. Snyder Brothers, et al., No. 734 WDA 2019, Pa. Super., 2020 Pa. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 23).
January 02, 2020
Fracking Companies: Mineral Rights Monopolization Case Fails, Claim Not Stated

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A group of oil and gas exploration companies on Dec. 30 filed a brief in Wyoming federal court contending that it should dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed against them because the landowners who filed the case fail to state a claim for monopolization of mineral rights related to hydraulic fracturing in local shale plays (Dennis A. Black, et al. v. Occidental Petroleum Corporation, et al., No. 19-243, D. Wyo.).