Mealey's Fracking
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November 9, 2018
Judge Gives Man 60 Days To Conduct Discovery, Orders Amendments To His Complaint
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Nov. 1 gave a man who contends that he was injured while working for a company that transports sand for hydraulic fracturing 60 days to engage in jurisdictional discovery to correct “inferential leaps” in his argument against one of the defendants. The judge also ordered the man to amend two paragraphs in his complaint that contained allegations that were “overly broad” (Dayton Cote v. U.S. Silica Company, et al., No. 18-1440, M.D. Pa., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 187016).
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November 9, 2018
Judge Partially Grants, Defers Petition To Review Federal Agency’s Resource Plan
DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado on Oct. 17 partially granted a petition for review of a federal government’s resource management plan (RMP) pertaining to hydraulic fracturing but deferred the final ruling until additional briefing is filed (Wilderness Workshop, et al. v. United States Bureau of Land Management, et al., No. 16-1822, D. Colo.; 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178506).
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November 9, 2018
Panel: Group Failed To Show Fracking Would Affect Community Adversely
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A panel of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Nov. 8, in an unpublished opinion, affirmed a lower court’s ruling that a township’s zoning hearing board (ZHB) did not err when it determined that a hydraulic fracturing company’s proposed operation would not adversely impact the community (Protect PT v. Penn Township Zoning Hearing Board, et al., No. 39-42 C.D. 2018, Pa. Cmwlth., 2018 Pa. Commw. Unpub. LEXIS 594).
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November 8, 2018
Fracking Securities Case Sent To Magistrate; Parties Debate Liability For Fraud
SAN ANTONIO — A federal judge in Texas on Nov. 6 referred to a U.S. magistrate judge the case of a Russian citizen who has sued a hydraulic fracturing company for securities fraud, seeking damages allegedly caused by the company’s “fraudulent scheme” in which he says the company violated federal laws and “successfully tricked” him into investing $2.6 million (Nikolay Rastorguev v. David Sepiachvili, et al., No. 18-966, W.D. Texas).
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November 8, 2018
Residents Pass Amendment To Florida Constitution That Prohibits Offshore Fracking
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida voters, by a margin of more than 2-to-1, on Nov. 6 approved an amendment to the state constitution that prohibits offshore hydraulic fracturing for the exploration or extraction of oil and natural gas, according to the Florida Department of State.
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November 7, 2018
Colorado Measure Requiring Buffer Zone Between Fracking Wells And Homes Fails
DENVER — Colorado voters on Nov. 6 rejected a measure that would have increased the amount of space needed as a buffer zone between new oil and gas development operations and homes, schools and playgrounds, according to the Colorado Department of State.
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November 7, 2018
Trump Administration: Groups Lack Standing To Challenge Fracking Permit Approvals
DENVER — Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and other officials in the Trump administration on Nov. 5 filed a brief in the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals contending that environmental groups lack standing to challenge any of the hydraulic fracturing permits the administration approved in the Mancos Shale/Gallup formations (Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, et al. v. Ryan Zinke, et al., No. 18-2089, 10th Cir.).
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November 7, 2018
Panel: Fracking Companies Not Liable For Injuries From Lithium Battery Explosion
DENVER — A panel of the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 6 ruled that two hydraulic fracturing companies did not owe a duty of care to two men who were injured when a lithium battery exploded when they were cleaning a drilling device used in fracking operations. The men were employees of a contractor company that provided the battery to the fracking companies (Jacob McGehee, et al. v. Forest Oil Corp., et al., No. 17-6238, 10th Cir.).
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November 2, 2018
Panel: Natural Gas Company May Exercise Eminent Domain In Pipeline Project
PHILADELPHIA — A panel of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 30 ruled that a group of landowners who opposed an interstate gas pipeline “fail to recognize” a federal court’s equitable power to enter preliminary injunctions once substantive rights are determined with regard to the standard condemnation powers granted to natural gas companies and that the pipeline company met all the requirements to exercise eminent domain (Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company LLC v. Permanent Easements for 2.14 Acres, et al., No. 17-3075; Transcontinental Gas Pipeline LLC v. Permanent Easement for 2.02 Acres, et al., No. 17-3076; Transcontinental Gas Pipeline LLC v. Permanent Easement for 1.33 Acres, et al., No. 17-3115; Transcontinental Gas Pipeline LLC v. Permanent Easement for 0.94 Acres, et al., No. 17-3116, 3rd Cir.).
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November 2, 2018
Parties Dispute Patent Board’s Obviousness Holding In Appellate Briefs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals was recently told by a patent licensee that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board erred in deeming obvious various claims of a patented system for fracturing multiple stages of an uncased oil or gas well (Rapid Completions LLC v. Weatherford International LLC, et al., No. 18-1859, Fed. Cir.).
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October 30, 2018
Split Pennsylvania Appellate Court Affirms Fracking Permit
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A divided Pennsylvania appeals court on Oct. 26 affirmed a lower court ruling that concluded that a local zoning hearing board properly issued a hydraulic fracturing permit despite objections that the approval to drill violated state law (Dolores Frederick, et al. v. Allegheny Township Zoning Hearing Board, No. 2295 C.D. 2015, Pa. Cmwlth., 2018 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 593).
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October 25, 2018
Trump Administration Approves Offshore Fracking In Alaska As Litigation Continues
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) on Oct. 24 granted conditional approval to a hydraulic fracturing company’s plan to conduct offshore drilling in Alaska’s outer continental shelf, as environmental groups continue to contest in Alaska federal court the executive order issued by President Donald Trump that opened the area to fracking (League of Conservation Voters, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-101, D. Alaska).
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October 23, 2018
Residents: U.S. High Court Should Hear False Claims Act Case About Fracking Leases
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 3 docketed a hydraulic fracturing lease dispute in which Ohio residents contend that their claim under the False Claims Act (FCA) against the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) was wrongly dismissed because the MWCD was aware that the leases in question violated an obligation to the United States (United States, ex rel. Leatra Harper, et al. v. Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, No. 18-418, U.S. Sup.).
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October 19, 2018
Groups Amend Lawsuit, Add Details About Violations Regarding Fracking Leases
BOISE, Idaho — Environmental groups that have challenged federal leases for hydraulic fracturing on Oct. 17 filed an amended complaint in Idaho federal court contending that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and other government parties violated federal law when it approved the sale of fracking leases in various western states (Western Watersheds Project, et al. v. Ryan K. Zinke, et al., No. 18-187, D. Idaho).
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October 17, 2018
Agency’s Authority To Make Fracking Rule Debated At Colorado Supreme Court
DENVER — An attorney for the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) and another representing residents on Oct. 16 debated before the Colorado Supreme Court whether the COGCC has the discretion and authority to engage in rule-making regarding the agency’s responsibility to protect public health in its development of oil and gas resources through hydraulic fracturing (Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, et al. v. Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, et al., No. 2017SC297, Colo. Sup.).
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October 17, 2018
Tribe: Venue Of Fracking Permit Dispute Should Not Be Moved To North Dakota
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation on Oct. 15 filed a brief in District of Columbia federal court arguing that a hydraulic fracturing company and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) should not be permitted to transfer a fracking permit dispute to North Dakota because the tribe’s preference for venue is “entitled to substantial deference” (Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation v. The United States Department of the Interior, et al., No. 18-1462, D. D.C.).
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October 8, 2018
Parties Debate Duty And Foreseeability Of Fracking Injury Before 10th Circuit
DENVER — The attorney for two men who were injured by the explosion of a lithium battery related to a hydraulic fracturing operation and the attorney representing the companies that operated the well debated the issue of duty and foreseeability of the risk of harm before a panel of the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 24 (Jacob McGehee, et al. v. Forest Oil Corp., et al., No. 17-6238, 10th Cir.).
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October 5, 2018
Parties Debate Federal Law Regarding Fracking Lease Sale Before 10th Circuit
DENVER — Attorneys for an environmental advocacy group and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) presented oral arguments before the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 24 in which they debated whether the DOI followed federal law when it conducted the sale of leases for hydraulic fracturing (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior, et al., No. 17-4134, 10th Cir.).
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October 5, 2018
Mineral Company: Fracking Lease Dispute Should Be Dismissed, Title Not Slandered
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A mineral management company on Sept. 10 filed a brief in New Mexico federal court contending that a hydraulic fracturing company’s case against it for breach of contract in a mineral lease assignment should be dismissed because the fracking company does not have a claim for slander of title (Marathon Oil Permian LLC v. Ozark Royaly Company LLC, et al., No. 18-548, D. N.M.).
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October 5, 2018
Putative Class: Correction Needed Regarding Fracking Royalty Payment Calculation
PITTSBURGH — A putative class of landowners on Sept. 11 filed a brief in Pennsylvania federal court, arguing that the court should issue an order correcting the method used for calculating fracking royalty payments that are in dispute between the landowners and a hydraulic fracturing company (Donald C. Frederick, et al. v. Range Resources – Appalachia LLC, No. 08-288, W.D. Pa.).