By Stefanie Burt | July 13, 2017
Royalty class action litigation continues to move forward in federal courts in Pennsylvania. Currently pending cases have challenged different kinds of royalty clauses, different kinds of marketing relationships, and different aspects of the royalty calculation on a variety of legal theories, including breach of express contract, breach of implied covenants, and good faith and fair dealing claims, among others. Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued two opinions relating to motions to dismiss filed by a lessee and its affiliated-buyer of natural gas in Canfield v. Statoil USA Onshore Properties, Civil Action No. 3:16-0085, (M.D.Pa. March 22, 2017), where lessors filed a putative class action challenging the calculation of royalties, as well as the relationship between the lessee and its affiliated buyer, on a number of different bases. The district court's ruling on the motions to dismiss and its subsequent ruling on the lessor's motion for reconsideration made very clear that the specific language in the oil and gas lease is a dispositive factor in resolving these disputes.
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By Jim Saunders | July 12, 2017
Nearly a year after a state regulatory commission approved controversial new water-quality standards, an appeals court ruled that a pulp-and-paper industry group should be able to challenge the measures.
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By Lizzy McLellan | July 10, 2017
With the hire of a former member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and two Schiff Hardin lawyers, Reed Smith has built a group focused on helping clients navigate FERC regulations.
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By Zack Needles | July 7, 2017
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will not review a divided en banc Commonwealth Court's ruling that state courts have jurisdiction over disputes arising under the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act.
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By Cheryl Miller | July 6, 2017
California and seven other states on Thursday moved to defend Obama-era ozone pollution standards that Attorney General Xavier Becerra said may be left to die under Scott Pruitt's leadership of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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By thelegalintelligencer | The Legal Intelligencer | June 30, 2017
Board properly held that petitioner failed to establish that department's issuance of a permit for a well to be drilled on a slant with the bottom under a refinery storage tank was unreasonable or contrary to law because the board correctly applied the burden of proof, credible expert evidence supported the decision and Pennsylvania courts had held that hydraulic fracturing was not an abnormally dangerous activity. Affirmed.
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By thelegalintelligencer | The Legal Intelligencer | June 30, 2017
Trial court erred in denying appellants' motion for summary judgment, in their declaratory judgment action over royalty payments, because court erroneously interpreted the lesser interest clause included solely in appellants' modification of the original 1928 oil and gas lease. Reversed.
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By thelegalintelligencer | The Legal Intelligencer | June 30, 2017
PUC properly imposed a civil penalty on petitioner alternative energy supplier for its intentional overbilling of 5,000 customers for four months and properly calculated the penalty on a "per invoice" method because the penalty was not disproportionate due to the intentional conduct by petitioner's executives, petitioner did not mitigate and only made refunds to customers who complained and PUC properly applied the factors in determining the penalty. Affirmed.
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By newyorklawjournal | New York Law Journal | June 29, 2017
The U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday it has temporarily suspended plans to anchor oil barges in the Hudson River at 10 locations from Yonkers to Kingston, pending a Ports and Waterways Safety Assessment of the river.
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By Adina Solomon | June 28, 2017
Practice Profile: Jirak represents clients in energy-related matters. His work has included involvement in state rate-making proceedings, resource certification…
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