Suing

Plaintiffs suing two municipalities in New York State for enacting bans on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) will soon have their day in court. Meanwhile, the city of Binghamton, which had its day in court — and lost — is considering an appeal.

Local government officials from around Colorado took a swipe at Gov. John Hickenlooper for suing the city of Longmont, CO, to turn back its ordinance establishing natural gas and oil drilling regulations within its boundaries. The state maintains exclusive jurisdiction in this area under the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC).

Several environmental groups and citizens are suing the Village of Painted Post in Steuben County, NY, over a contract to sell some of its water supplies to a unit of Royal Dutch Shell plc for its Marcellus Shale natural gas operations in Tioga County, PA.

Texas natural gas producers are suing the City of Arlington, TX, to stop a recently enacted $2,400 per well annual fee on operators. The fee’s anticipated $781,450 annual revenue would fund the city’s “Natural Gas Well Preparedness and Response Plan,” which was adopted in March.

An environmental group is suing Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, claiming that his administration is misusing revenue from Marcellus Shale development on state lands. Although Corbett is being sued, most of the actions cited in the litigation first were undertaken by his predecessor Ed Rendell.

Energy Transfer Partners LP, the former partner with Enterprise Products Partners LP in a proposed oil pipeline from Cushing, OK, to Houston, is suing Enterprise and its new partner in a similar project, Enbridge Inc.

A West Virginia man suing two energy companies in the Marcellus Shale wants his case returned to circuit court.

ExxonMobil Corp. is suing the Department of Interior for canceling three leases in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) that could yield “billions of barrels of oil.” Statoil ASA, ExxonMobil’s partner in the disputed offshore Julia Unit, joined the lawsuit that was filed earlier this month.

ExxonMobil Corp. is suing the Department of Interior for canceling three leases in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) that could yield “billions of barrels of oil.” Statoil ASA, ExxonMobil’s partner in the disputed offshore Julia Unit, filed a similar lawsuit earlier this week.