In a July 17, 2024 Opinion, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided in AUUE, Inc. v. Borough of Jefferson Hills Zoning Hearing Board, No. 28 WAP 2022, ___ A.3d ___ (Pa. 2024), that the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code...more
Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Company, LLC is good news for Pennsylvania mineral owners bringing claims for subsurface trespass by fracking. In 2018 in “Briggs 1”, the Briggs family sued SWN for subsurface...more
In Brown v. City of Oil City, No. 6 WAP 2022, 2023 Pa. LEXIS 681 (2023), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (Supreme Court) recently held that a contractor can be liable for dangerous conditions it creates even if the hazard...more
GM Berkshire Hills LLC v. Berks County Board of Assessment (2023 Pa. LEXIS 272, February 28, 2023) – – Split Supreme Court Ruling Enables Taxing Body Assessment Appeals Based on Recent Sales to Remain - Counties, schools...more
Solar farm developers who do not enter into surface use agreements with Pennsylvania oil, gas and mineral owners (and their lessees) could create legal jeopardy for their solar farm projects. All surface developments in...more
On June 8, 2022, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied the City of Philadelphia’s (the “City”) Petition for Allowance of Appeal from the decision of the Commonwealth Court in Duffield House Assocs., L.P. v. City of Phila.,...more
On March 24, 2021, in a 6-1 decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court halted a lawsuit against oil and gas lessees by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General (OAG) under Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and...more
Herein, highlights from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Briggs, et al. v. Southwestern Energy Production Company. The rule of capture applies to oil and gas produced from wells completed using hydraulic fracturing and...more
The Rule of Capture has been a foundational concept of oil and gas prospecting for 150 years. The Rule of Capture exists to provide an affirmative defense to drillers when they tap into oil and gas pockets that cross property...more
Elizabeth Young is a 72-year-old grandmother whose home and car the government sought to forfeit based on several relatively minor drug sales her adult son conducted out of the house and car. Young fought the forfeiture and...more
In a case that will have an impact on the owners of property that has been devalued as a result of environmental conditions, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently agreed that contaminated real estate could be appraised at 5...more