Mealey's Fracking : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Fracking

January 12, 2023
Fracking Operator Seeks Ruling On Liability Regarding Overriding Royalty Interests

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A hydraulic fracturing operator has filed a reply brief in Ohio federal court arguing that it should issue judgment in its favor as to another fracking company’s liability on claims for breach of contract and declaratory judgment regarding overriding royalty interests in oil and gas deposits.
January 12, 2023
Fracking Operator: Fraud Case Dismissal Proper, As Per Judge’s Recommendation

DENVER — A hydraulic fracturing company and its officers filed a brief in Colorado federal court responding to the objections raised by plaintiff shareholders who disagree with a magistrate judge’s report that recommends that their securities fraud action be dismissed. The company maintains that the report’s “comprehensive analysis of the complaint’s deficiencies is correct.”
January 12, 2023
11th Circuit Reverses, Remands Mineral Rights Case, Says Issues Of Fact Remain

ATLANTA — A panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded a lower court ruling and has determined that genuine issues of material fact exist in a mineral rights dispute based on discrepancies in information pertaining to whether one of the parties drilled mineral samples on the property in question.
January 12, 2023
Panel: Fracking Lease Had Not Expired; Operator’s Production Activity Was Proper

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — An Ohio appellate panel has affirmed dismissal of a hydraulic fracturing lease dispute on grounds that the oil and gas lease in question had not expired but had extended into a secondary term and remained in full force and effect and, therefore, the fracking operator was within its rights to continue production on the plaintiffs’ property.
January 12, 2023
Panel: Fracking Operator Did Not Breach Mineral Rights Lease With Landowners

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — An appellate panel in Ohio has affirmed a trial court’s decision and held that a hydraulic fracturing operator did not breach its lease with landowners regarding its payment of royalties in connection with a mineral rights contract.
January 12, 2023
Pipeline Company Tells Supreme Court Decision On Petition Should Not Be Deferred

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A hydraulic fracturing pipeline company has filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court opposing a landowner’s motion to defer consideration of his petition for writ of certiorari pending resolution of two separate cases, arguing that the case at hand does not cite either of the separate lawsuits, despite certiorari having been granted in those cases months before the instant petition was filed.
January 12, 2023
Briefly: 3rd Circuit Denies En Banc Rehearing Of Nuns’ RFRA Pipeline Challenge

PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has denied a petition for rehearing en banc sought by Roman Catholic nuns who disagreed with a panel’s decision that their opposition to a hydraulic fracturing pipeline underneath the grounds of their property pursuant to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) constituted a collateral attack on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of the project.
January 10, 2023
Briefly: 5th Circuit Says Clean Water Permit For Pipeline Was Issued Properly

NEW ORLEANS — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for review sought by a group of shrimpers and fishermen related to a clean air permit dispute for a natural gas pipeline, ruling that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not act arbitrarily in its conclusions regarding the impact of pipeline construction on the environment and the need for compensatory mitigation.
January 10, 2023
Groups Seek To Intervene In National Monument Case To Preserve Historic Objects

SALT LAKE CITY — Three groups have filed a brief in Utah federal court arguing that they should be permitted to intervene in a lawsuit over the dimensions of two national monuments, the boundaries of which have potential implications for hydraulic fracturing, because the groups say they “have the full preservation of the Monument and protection of its objects of historic and scientific interest at the heart of their organizational missions.”
January 10, 2023
Texas Railroad Commission Says Anti-Pooling Decision Was Proper Under State Law

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) filed a brief in the Texas Supreme Court contending that it was within its discretion when it ruled against a hydraulic fracturing operator’s request to have the RRC force pooling of oil and gas resources on a parcel of land.
January 10, 2023
Mineral Rights Owner Seeks Remand Of Royalty Case On Jurisdictional Grounds

WHEELING, W.Va. — A mineral rights owner has filed a reply brief in West Virginia federal court contending that it should remand his hydraulic fracturing royalty dispute to state court on grounds that the federal court lacks jurisdiction.
January 09, 2023
Government Defends Review Of Fracking Permits In N.D. Tribe’s 8th Circuit Appeal

ST. LOUIS — The federal government approved permits for a non-Indian energy company’s hydraulic fracturing well project along Lake Sakakawea in North Dakota on the reservation of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation after a complete vetting of the project and with full input from the tribe during the review process, the government says in defending a summary judgment ruling in its favor to the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
January 09, 2023
Federal Agency Reasserts Lack Of Jurisdiction Argument In Federal Drilling Dispute

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has filed a reply brief in Wyoming federal court supporting its motion to dismiss an oil company’s complaint that it has the right to drill on federal land without obtaining the BLM’s permission. The agency says subject matter jurisdiction is lacking because there was no final agency action and the United States has not waived sovereign immunity.
January 06, 2023
Judge: Some Claims Against Fracking Operator For Tainted Drinking Water Are Valid

OKLAHOMA CITY — A federal judge in Oklahoma has partially granted and partially denied a hydraulic fracturing company’s attempt to have all charges for groundwater contamination against it dismissed, ruling that claims for public nuisance and successor liability are valid.
December 22, 2022
Canadian Physicians Call For Fracking Moratorium Based On Health Risks

TORONTO — The organization Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) has released a report recommending a moratorium on the development of new natural gas wells across Canada and calling for an end to government subsidies for oil and gas companies, based on health information it gained studying individuals in British Columbia.
December 22, 2022
Groups Sue Agencies For Alleged Failures Related To Alaska Fracking Lease Sale

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Environmental groups on Dec. 21 sued the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) in Alaska federal court challenging the agency’s decision to hold a lease sale for offshore hydraulic fracturing in Cook Inlet on grounds that the final environmental impact statement (EIS) failed to adequately evaluate the environmental impact of drilling activity.
December 19, 2022
Fracking Company Says Current Lease Appeal Should Not Be Assigned To Prior Panel

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A hydraulic fracturing company engaged in a federal lease dispute with the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) filed a brief in the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing that it should deny a motion by an intervenor Native American group seeking to have the appeal assigned to the same panel that heard a prior, related appeal. The fracking operator says that while the attempt is “an understandable litigation tactic,” it is still “inappropriate.”
December 16, 2022
Congressional Members Support Groups Seeking NEPA Review Of Fracking Leases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three members of Congress on Dec. 15 filed an amicus curiae brief in the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals supporting the position of environmental groups that argue that a lower court correctly vacated a federal hydraulic fracturing lease sale because a review was needed pursuant to compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
December 16, 2022
Patent Defendant Entitled To Dismissal With Prejudice, Texas Federal Magistrate Says

WACO, Texas — A federal magistrate judge in Texas has recommended that a fracking company be dismissed from a patent infringement action over pumping devices used on fracking wells.
December 12, 2022
Agency, Groups Reach Deal For Additional Review Of California Fracking Plan

SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) have reached a settlement that calls for the BLM to conduct a supplemental environmental analysis (EA) in response to the CBD’s lawsuit against the agency related to its decision to open California’s Bay Area and Central Coast to hydraulic fracturing.
December 08, 2022
Fracking Advocates Seek Ruling Biden Administration’s Lease Pause Was ‘Unlawful’

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Groups that advocate for hydraulic fracturing activity in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) have moved in Alaska federal court seeking summary judgment declaring the Biden administration’s actions unlawful with regard to his decision to issue a moratorium on federal lease sales in that region.
December 08, 2022
Investors: Securities Fraud Case Against Exxon Is Valid Based On New Information

DALLAS — Investors have filed a brief in Texas federal court contending that it should deny a motion to dismiss a hydraulic fracturing securities fraud case against Exxon Mobil Corp. because new facts included in the shareholders’ amended complaint “are sufficient to support direct, corporate and scheme liability.”
December 08, 2022
Commission Bans Dumping Of Fracking Wastewater In Delaware River Basin

TRENTON, N.J. — The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) on Dec. 7 announced that it unanimously approved a final rule prohibiting the discharge of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing operations in the basin, including wastewater that may be exported into the basin.
December 07, 2022
Securities Case ‘Particularly Well-Suited’ For Class Certification, Investors Say

HOUSTON — Shareholders in a putative class action against a hydraulic fracturing company and three of its senior executives moved in Texas federal court for certification of the class on grounds that securities cases are “particularly well-suited” for class certification.
December 07, 2022
Company Pans Recommendation To Dismiss Case Because It Allows Claim To Be Amended

DENVER — A hydraulic fracturing company and its officers have filed an objection to a magistrate judge’s report even though it recommends that a securities fraud class action against the defendants be dismissed, arguing that the report allows the plaintiff shareholders to amend their complaint, which would be their fourth chance to state a claim.