Nonprofit Quick Tip: State Filings in Maryland and Pennsylvania
The JustPod: Defending the "Evil Genius:" A Conversation with Leonard Ambrose
The JustPod: Lawyer, Gentleman, and Counsel to the Stars: A Discussion with Brian McMonagle
Strategies to Manage Costs of Medical Care in a PA Workers’ Compensation Claim
Let's Talk New Child Support Guidelines for 2022
Settlement and Mediation Strategy
If you drive around Pennsylvania, you are likely not going to encounter a “For Sale” sign offering a cavern in the ground. But the voids, pore spaces, and cavities in the subsurface can be quite valuable now and in the...more
Does the Texas Supreme Court’s Decision in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating Provide Guidance About Lithium and Rare Earth Minerals Ownership in Pennsylvania? Lithium demand is expected to continue to increase as...more
In a June 13, 2025 decision, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court held that a municipality impermissibly granted conditional use approval to an oil and gas well pad and interconnect facility on tax lots that were already...more
Pennsylvania Senate Bill 102 Moves Forward- On May 12, 2025, Pennsylvania Senate Bill 102 was referred to the Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee. The draft legislation had originally been referred to the...more
A local state court in Pennsylvania recently dismissed an array of climate tort claims brought against major fossil fuel companies by a local government--in this case, Bucks County. Among the three dozen or so climate tort...more
In Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Co. (Briggs II), the Middle District of Pennsylvania directed summary judgment to Southwestern Energy (SWN) and dismissed the plaintiffs' claims of trespass and conversion. The...more
In a February 7, 2025 decision in Simon v. Sunoco Pipeline LP, No. 2015-3302 (Wash. Cty. February 7, 2025), the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County, Pennsylvania concluded that Sunoco Pipeline LP and Sunoco Logistics...more
Pennsylvania Senate Bill 1346 which was introduced at the end of the 2023-2024 legislative session. Its aim was to restrict the distribution of unconventional gas well fees to municipalities whose zoning ordinances...more
Let’s assume you inherited a 150 acre farm in Lycoming County that has been owned by your family since 1909. In 2020, you are approached by ABC Drilling about a new oil and gas lease for the farm. You retain counsel and...more
By a 3-2 vote on November 11, the Board of Supervisors of Cecil Township in Western Pennsylvania increased the setback distance for fracking operations to 2,500 feet from protected structures like residences and businesses,...more
On November 7, 2024, several Pennsylvania state senators from oil and gas producing regions introduced Senate Bill 1346 of 2024, which proposes to change the way that revenues from Pennsylvania’s unconventional well fee are...more
If you have bought or sold property in Pennsylvania, you have likely encountered the Oil, Gas and/or Mineral Rights/Interests Disclosure© form prepared by the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors as part of the sales...more
On July 17, 2024, Pennsylvania joined a growing number of states establishing a legal framework for the underground storage of carbon dioxide. Carbon capture and underground sequestration (“CCUS”) is promoted as a technology...more
Solar developers in the PJM region, particularly in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, often encounter land with a complex history of mineral development. This history can significantly impact solar projects, from site...more
Since the early 1900’s, your family has owned a 105 acre farm in Greene County, Pennsylvania. In 2024, you and your siblings sign an oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling Company. The language in the lease states that it...more
A troubling and confusing issue here in Pennsylvania concerns the ownership of oil and gas rights under roads and highways. For example, let’s assume Farmer Joe owned 115 acres in Greene County. In 1981, Farmer Joe sells...more
On November 1, 2023, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court held that the rulemaking entering Pennsylvania into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative ("RGGI") violated the state constitution. The decision upends regulatory...more
Let’s assume you own a 160-acre farm in Washington County. Your father purchased the farm in 1992 from a local farmer named Jones. (the “1992 Deed”). At the time your father purchased the farm, there was an oil and gas lease...more
Let’s assume your grandfather owned 99 acres in Washington County. In 1955, he sells a small portion of the farm to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in order to facilitate the construction of new State Route 39. This acreage...more
A dual purpose oil and gas lease transitions into its secondary term, and remains in its secondary term, if oil and gas is produced from the leasehold or if the leasehold is used for oil and gas storage. See, Smith v....more
On January 24, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania held that Act 85 of 2019, which permits drilling horizontal oil and gas wells across existing drilling units, is not unconstitutional....more
On 30 November 2022, the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) voted 16-2 to approve an emergency rule regulating volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from existing conventional oil and gas sources. The...more
On November 3, 2022, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed Act 153 of 2022, which revises the Oil and Gas Lease Act’s provisions on required disclosures accompanying payments made to royalty owners from unconventional oil and...more
Many Pennsylvania landowners have leases with “market enhancement” royalty clauses. These clauses typically prohibit the deduction of any post-production costs that are incurred transforming the gas into marketable form. Once...more
Now less than one month before Election Day, the New York Governor's race is far closer than most had anticipated. Incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul, who succeeded Andrew Cuomo following his resignation, is being pressed by...more