Partner Poe Leggette and Counsel Jasper Mason authored an article published by Law360 on April 20, 2018. The article, “Trespass by Fracking: Pennsylvania Court Weighs In,” discusses the recent ruling by the Superior Court of Pennsylvania that trespass and conversion claims arising from hydraulic fracturing are not precluded by the rule of capture. In the matter of Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Company, the Briggs family alleged that Southwestern’s wells were unlawfully draining gas from beneath their land as a result of fissures induced by hydraulic fracturing. Leggette and Mason note that this decision raises significant questions for hydraulic drilling operators.
Read the article (registration required).