What You Need To Know In A Minute Or Less - Based largely on publicly available data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), plaintiffs have been filing an increasing number of personal-injury and class-action...more
On 19 September 2022, a Cook County, Illinois jury awarded US$363 million to a plaintiff who alleged that her breast cancer was caused by emissions of ethylene oxide (EtO) from a Sterigenics facility in Willowbrook, Illinois....more
Post-production deductions are a hot topic in the Appalachian Basin. If you practice or operate in West Virginia, you know that the last 20 years have seen West Virginia forge its own path and deviate from the majority of...more
Last year in West v. Bode, the Ohio Supreme Court determined that mineral estates are subject to the statutory double barrel of both the Marketable Title Act (MTA) and the Dormant Mineral Act (DMA), providing surface owners...more
As drilling activity and production in the Appalachian region stabilized (and even began to move upward) at the end of 2020, class actions continue to be used in creative ways by plaintiffs raising a variety of claims and...more
DUKE ENERGY BEGINS WORK ON 94 MW OF NEW SOLAR PROJECTS - On July 27, 2020, Duke Energy Corporation (“Duke Energy”) announced the commencement of construction on two new major utility-scale solar projects in western North...more
DOMINION SEEKING WIND, SOLAR, AND STORAGE BIDS TO MEET VIRGINIA’S RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGETS - Dominion Energy Inc. is seeking bids for asset purchase and power purchase agreements for up to 1 GW of solar and wind power and 250...more
SOLAR SEES A RECORD-BREAKING 2019 FOR NEW POWER SOURCES - In March, the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie published the U.S. Solar Market Insight 2019 Year In Review report (the “Report”) showing a...more
AFTER HIGH PRICE 15 YEARS AGO, SOLAR POWER NOW CHEAPEST ENERGY IN THE WORLD -
On February 21, 2020, National Public Radio (“NPR”) reported on the immense drop in price of solar panels since 2006. In the piece, NPR...more
100 MW SOLAR PROJECT PLANNED IN KENTUCKY -
On January 23, 2020, Louisville Gas and Electric Company (“LG&E”) and Kentucky Utilities Company (“KU”) filed an application for approval of a 20-year solar power contract with...more
A recent case out of the Court of Appeals of Ohio has provided further clarification as to how the method of measurement of oil and gas production affects a production in paying quantities analysis in the state. ...more
The North Dakota Supreme Court recently held, in Pennington v. Continental Resources, Inc., that a force majeure clause could toll the primary term of an oil and gas lease, even in the absence of initial operations or...more
On June 7, 2018, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (the “Department”) announced the issuance of new general permits that fall in line with Pennsylvania’s commitment to...more
With the advent of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technology, many operators have been able to access “deeper” strata, such as the Marcellus and Utica formations, to extract large reserves of oil and gas. In...more
On August 30, 2017, in EQT Production Company v. Wender, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a federal district court’s invalidation of a West Virginia county’s ordinance banning oil and natural...more
Recently, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia clarified an important issue for the oil and gas industry in Gastar Exploration, Inc. v. Contraguerro, affirming West Virginia’s adherence to the contract theory of...more
A recent Commonwealth Court decision may have significant implications for permittees in Pennsylvania obtaining approvals from the Department of Environmental Protection (“Department” or “DEP”) under various environmental...more
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of Colorado issued its long-awaited decision in Antero Resources Corp. v. Strudley and held that the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure do not allow a trial court to issue a modified case...more
As oil and gas production continues to increase domestically, the possibility for class action exposure is an increasing concern. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently issued its decision in EQT...more
In Wheeler v. Enbridge Pipelines, the Supreme Court of Texas provided guidance to midstream companies on the proper calculation of damages to real property stemming from the breach of a pipeline right-of-way agreement...more
In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of Texas concluded that the cost of removing carbon dioxide (“CO2”) from casinghead gas after completing enhanced oil recovery operations is a “post-production” cost, thus clarifying...more