Magistrate Denies Company’s Bid To Dismiss Fracking Royalty Dispute

(September 4, 2024, 2:33 PM EDT) -- HARRISBURG, Pa. — A federal magistrate judge in Pennsylvania on Sept. 3 denied a hydraulic fracturing operator’s motion to dismiss a breach of contract lawsuit brought by two couples who entered into agreements for the development of natural gas on their properties, ruling that at this juncture of the litigation, the magistrate could not say that the leases in question “are not ambiguous” and, therefore, the claims survive....