Legal

The Colorado Oil and Gas Association (COGA) on Tuesday filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by local control activists against the industry group, the state and Gov. John Hickenlooper. COGA also is seeking court sanctions against the activists for the allegedly frivolous lawsuits.

A federal appeals court in New Orleans on Wednesday ordered that some payments required to be paid by BP plc be halted to Gulf Coast businesses claiming they were impacted by the Macondo well blowout.

Wednesday afternoon, Dallas City Council voted to deny Trinity East Energy LLC three permits it needed to drill on leases within the city for which it has already paid $19 million, setting the city up for a possible legal challenge from the company that could end up costing it millions before the nearly five-year saga is over.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly is investigating whether JPMorgan Chase & Co. has manipulated U.S. energy markets, but neither the department nor the company will comment on the reports.

Just days after a seventh justice was sworn in to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Public Utility Commission (PUC) on Tuesday submitted a request that the high court reconsider its decision to quash an appeal by the commission regarding enforcement of Act 13, the state’s omnibus Marcellus Shale law.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court quashed an appeal by the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) on Thursday, leaving in place a judge’s order that the commission cannot use a review process to enforce some provisions of Act 13, the state’s omnibus Marcellus Shale law.

Natural gas producers don’t owe a duty to develop each and every “economically exploitable strata” under a landowner’s property, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled last month.

West Virginia’s legal system continues to struggle with surface rights issues, with the state’s Supreme Court of Appeals finding recently that the term “surface” means just what it says and does not include underground resources.

On a 6-3 vote after dozens of citizens and business representatives spoke, the Colorado Springs, CO, City Council late Tuesday night approved rules to allow the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in oil and natural gas drilling, mirroring similar statewide rules.