By Erik M. Hume As many property owners throughout Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale counties have learned in recent years, ownership of the surface does not necessarily include ownership of what lies below. Title to the surface and subsurface can be "severed";... Read More

By William Perry Pendley DENVER - Energy operators in Pennsylvania, after a victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia in September 2011, on March 5 urged a Pennsylvania federal district court to issue a final ruling... Read More

By Russell L. Schetroma In 1882, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court announced a presumption that a reservation of "minerals" does not include oil absent evidence within the four corners of the deed of a contrary intent. Dunham v. Kirkpatick... Read More

By William Perry Pendley DENVER - Energy operators in Pennsylvania, after a victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia in September 2011, which affirmed the December 2009 ruling of a Pennsylvania federal district... Read More

By William Perry Pendley DENVER - A Pennsylvania federal district court on March 23 denied a motion by energy operators in Pennsylvania to hold the U.S. Forest Service in contempt of the district court's December 2009 ruling that requires the agency... Read More

By Emily B. Thomas and Holly Robbins The Superior Court of Pennsylvania, which is appellate level review in Pennsylvania, recently issued an opinion questioning the long-followed "Dunham Rule" as it applies to the Marcellus shale. Butler v.... Read More

Increasingly cited by courts in oil and gas producing states, Kuntz, Law of Oil and Gas provides an exhaustive survey of oil and gas conveyancing and operations, with citations to authorities that help attorneys find a quick answer or case on point. The... Read More

In Minard Run Oil Co. v. United States Forest Serv . , C.A. No. 09-125 Erie (W.D. Pa. September 6, 2012) [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ], Judge Sean J. McLaughlin of the Western District of Pennsylvania granted summary judgment... Read More

William Perry Pendley September 20, 2011 - DENVER - Energy operators in Pennsylvania celebrated today's decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia that affirmed a ruling by a Pennsylvania federal district court... Read More

Since 2002, oil and gas interests have not been subject to real estate taxes based upon the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's interpretation of state assessment laws as excluding oil and gas reserves. See Independent Oil & Gas Association v. Board... Read More

By R. Neal Pierce and Lyle B. Brown On January 17, 2012, the Harrison County (Ohio) Court of Common Pleas ruled that a 1959 mineral reservation did not authorize the use of a well on the surface of the premises to remove oil and gas located beyond its... Read More

By William A. Ruskin It is the dream of many landowners in the United States to one day have both oil wells and wind turbines on their land. For this happen, however, landowners must play an active role in keeping oil and wind companies from trying... Read More

By William Perry Pendley DENVER - Energy operators in Pennsylvania, after a victory before the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia in September 2011, which affirmed the December 2009 ruling of a Pennsylvania federal district court regarding... Read More

By William Perry Pendley DENVER - Energy operators in Pennsylvania, after a victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia in September 2011( Minard Run Oil Company v. United States Forest Service , No. 10-1265, 3rd... Read More

By William Perry Pendley DENVER - Energy operators in Pennsylvania, after a victory at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in September 2011, on March 15 urged a Pennsylvania federal district court to ignore a brief filed by federal lawyers... Read More