Appeals

A district court judge has reconsidered her decision last month to pass a key surface rights case on to the highest court in West Virginia, the Supreme Court of Appeals.

A district court judge wants the highest court in West Virginia, the Supreme Court of Appeals, to certify whether existing state law allows a company to drill on land where it doesn’t own the surface rights, but it owns the underlying mineral rights.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) and a coalition of business groups last week appeared before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to challenge the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) implementation of Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, which requires companies registered with the agency to publicly report how much they pay governments for access to oil, natural gas and other minerals.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) and a coalition of business groups appeared before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Monday to challenge the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) implementation of Section 1504 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, which requires companies registered with the agency to publicly report how much they pay governments for access to oil, natural gas and minerals.

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, Friday granted the plea of a former natural gas trader for failed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC to overturn an agency order imposing a $30 million penalty for allegedly manipulating natural gas futures.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has upheld a lower court’s ruling supporting the Interior Department’s arguments that it is not required to immediately issue leases to oil and natural gas producers following purchases.

A federal appeals court in Washington, DC, Friday granted the plea of a former natural gas trader for failed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC to overturn an FERC order imposing a $30 million penalty for allegedly manipulating natural gas futures.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has upheld a lower court’s ruling supporting the Interior Department’s arguments that it is not required to immediately issue leases to oil and natural gas producers following purchases.

In a case with a significant potential impact in several states, an Ohio appeals court on Tuesday ruled that a municipality in Summit County exceeded its authority when it ordered a Utica Shale driller to stop operations, dealing a blow to local ordinances, or “home rule” laws.