By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyOn June 13, 2018, a federal district court rejected a takings challenge to a unit order issued by the Ohio Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management under the state’s statutory unitization law, R.C. 1509.28 The court found that “the statutory unitization procedure set forth in R.C. § 1509.28 operates to protect the correlative rights… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyA newly filed collective action in Ohio federal court against an oil and gas company highlights the importance of wage-hour law compliance and the potential ramifications for failing to do so. The case, Casarez v. Producers Service Corp., pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, involves the proper calculation of… Continue Reading
By Michael Vennum on Posted in EnergyOn June 1, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, in a 4 to 3 decision, held that, without first establishing a sufficient evidentiary record, a Township cannot permit oil and gas drilling in a zoning district unless that use is specifically authorized by the municipal zoning ordinance. In Gorsline v. Fairfield Twp. Board of Supervisors, the… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyIn Browne v. Artex (May 31, 2018), Ohio’s Fifth District Court of Appeals held that a claim that an oil and gas lease expired for lack of production is governed by Ohio’s statute of limitation for contract claims—not the state’s longer statute of limitations for recovery of possession of real property. In Browne, the plaintiffs… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyOn May 25, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a district court’s decision that Sabine Oil & Gas Corporation could reject certain gathering service agreements in bankruptcy. The agreements, with Nordheim Eagle Ford Gathering, LLC, provided that Nordheim would supply Sabine with certain gathering, transportation and treatment services for… Continue Reading
By Jay Carr on Posted in EnergyThe Supreme Court of Ohio ruled yesterday that the Mahoning County Board of Elections must place a proposed city charter amendment—the so-called “Youngstown Drinking Water Protection Bill of Rights”—on the May 2018 ballot, which includes several anti-fracking provisions. State ex rel. Khumprakob v. Mahoning Cty. Bd. of Elections, Slip Opinion No. 2018-Ohio-1602. According to the Court, “[t]he… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyOn April 10th-11th, the Energy and Mineral Law Foundation (EMLF) will be hosting a Special Institute on Petrochemicals in Pittsburgh, PA. Among the speakers are Vorys’ own Allen Rutz and Dick Schwartz. To learn more or to register, click here.… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyToday, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management invited comments on a draft rule package that would amend the Division’s existing well spacing rules for conventional and horizontal wells. As the Division explains in its Statement of Intent: The DOGRM intends to amend the existing well spacing rule by revising… Continue Reading
By Jay Carr on Posted in EnergyRecently, in Shilts v. Beardmore (2018-Ohio-863), the Seventh District Court of Appeals analyzed whether a surface owner complied with the notice requirement of the 2006 version of the Ohio Dormant Mineral Act (Revised Code 5305.56) (the “2006 DMA”). Under the 2006 DMA, in order to abandon a dormant mineral interest, a surface owner must first serve a notice of… Continue Reading
By Jay Carr on Posted in EnergyOn February 28, 2018, the Supreme Court of Ohio announced that it has accepted an appeal of Blackstone v. Moore (2017-Ohio-1639). Blackstone is a Seventh District Court of Appeals decision that analyzed the Ohio Marketable Title Act (R.C. 5301.47 et seq.) (the “OMTA”) and adopted a four factor test to determine whether a reference to an… Continue Reading
By Michael Vennum on Posted in EnergyOn Friday, March 9, 2018, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signed into law a state statute permitting the leasing of oil and gas interests owned by seven or more “royalty owners,” if at least 75% of the owners agree to the lease. The law, which takes effect on July 1, 2018, eliminates the need to… Continue Reading
By Michael Vennum on Posted in EnergyIn its February 2018 unpublished decision of Woodhouse Hunting Club, Inc. v. Hoyt, the Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld yet another challenge to the Commonwealth’s unique, historical concept of “title washing.” Many oil and gas title attorneys are familiar with the concept, whereby reservations of oil and gas underlying “unseated” lands are erased following tax sales. The… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyOn January 30, 2018, the Supreme Court of Ohio rejected a constitutional challenge to a statutory unitization order issued by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management. In State ex rel. Kerns v. Simmers, the Division issued an order under Ohio’s unitization statute, R.C. 1509.28, that consolidated the relators-landowners’… Continue Reading
By Ryan Elliott on Posted in Energy,EnvironmentOn January 22, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court held that lawsuits challenging the joint EPA-Army Corps rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) must be filed in federal District Courts. The Supreme Court’s decision overturns the Sixth Circuit’s February 2016 decision that the federal Circuit Courts have exclusive jurisdiction, pursuant to Section 1369(b)(1) of… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyIn a January 3, 2018 decision, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that Ohio does not recognize an implied covenant to explore further as a distinct implied covenant in oil and gas leases. See Alford v. Collins-McGregor Operating Co., Slip Opinion No. 2018-Ohio-8. Read more about this case in our Client Alert.… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyYesterday, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection halted construction of Sunoco Logistic LP’s Mariner East II pipeline, citing violations of environmental laws, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Sunoco violated its permits, using unauthorized drilling methods that leaked nontoxic drilling fluid into trout streams and water wells across the state, according to the DEP. The state discovered… Continue Reading
By Jay Carr on Posted in EnergyIn Talbot v. Ward (2017-Ohio-9213), Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals found the Duhig rule “persuasive” in interpreting a deed containing an exception for royalties, bonuses, and rentals. The Duhig rule, first enacted in Texas in 1940, bars a grantor and his successors and assigns from claiming title in a reserved fractional mineral interest when doing so would, in effect,… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyOver the last several weeks, Ohio courts issued a few decisions involving oil and gas issues that we wanted to briefly mention: Schillo v. Chesapeake Exploration, LLC (Harrison Cty. C.P., Oct. 16, 2017) – Here, the dispute was whether the lessee properly extended an oil and gas lease through the tender of delay rental payments. … Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyLast week, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Eclipse Res.—Ohio, LLC v. Madzia, concerning a dispute between a landowner and a lessee regarding the latter’s drilling rights. Among other things, the court found: The lease, which conveyed to the lessee a broad grant of rights to use the landowner’s… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyIn March, we posted about Dundics v. Eric Petroleum Corp., a decision by Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals ruling that landmen were required to obtain real estate broker’s licenses in order to sue for compensation for brokering deals between landowners and oil and gas companies. Today, the Supreme Court of Ohio agreed to review… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyIn a decision released yesterday, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio concluded that Ohio would adopt the “at the well” rule regarding the deduction of post-production costs, the first time the issue has been squarely addressed under Ohio law. Lutz v. Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C., N.D.Ohio No. 4:09-cv-2256 (Oct. 25, 2017).… Continue Reading
By Jay Carr on Posted in EnergyIn Sheba v. Kautz, 2017-Ohio-7699, Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals held that a deed executed in 1848 reserving “all of the minerals and coal” did not reserve oil and gas. In reaching its decision, the Court applied ordinary principles of contract interpretation, and heavily relied upon the Supreme Court of Ohio’s decision in Detlor… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyLast year, we posted about litigation concerning the Bureau of Land Management’s controversial rule purporting to regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands. After a federal court found that the rule exceeded the scope of the BLM’s regulatory authority, appeals were filed with 10th District Court of Appeals. Earlier this year, the BLM announced… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyOn August 30, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a district court’s decision striking down a Fayette County, WV ordinance prohibiting wastewater injection. EQT Production Company challenged the ordinance—which restricted “storage, treatment, injection, process or permanent disposal” of wastewater within the county, including specifically, the use of injection wells… Continue Reading
