Mealey's Fracking : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Fracking

May 03, 2023
Groups Insist Supreme Court Review Of Offshore Fracking Ruling Is Not Needed

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Defense Center (EDC) and other environmental groups filed an opposition brief in the U.S. Supreme Court contending that it does not need to review a petition filed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and its affiliates pertaining to alleged violations of federal law with regard to offshore hydraulic fracturing because the court below properly applied the Supreme Court’s two-part test for evaluating when an agency action is final pursuant to Bennett v. Spear and because the decision does not have “far-reaching practical or legal implications.”
May 03, 2023
Group Drops Fracking Waste Lawsuit Against Delaware River Basin Commission

PHILADELPHIA — An environmental group has voluntarily dismissed a lawsuit against the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) related to the dumping of hydraulic fracturing wastewater in the basin, contending in a press release that as a direct result of filing the lawsuit the DRBC removed a loophole in its regulations that now makes it “crystal clear” that the discharge of any imported wastewater from any well subject to high-volume hydraulic fracturing is not allowed.
May 02, 2023
Agencies Deny Claims They Violated Federal Law In Approving Offshore Fracking

LOS ANGELES — On May 1, the secretary of the Interior and associated federal agencies filed an answer in California federal court denying all claims against them related to alleged violations of federal law pertaining to their approval of offshore oil and gas activities along the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). They also contend that the environmental groups suing the government fail to state a claim for which relief can be granted.
May 02, 2023
Native American Group Drops 9th Circuit Willow Project Appeal, Seeks Resolution

SAN FRANCISCO — A Native American organization has voluntarily dismissed its appeal against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) related to the Willow Project in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, saying it aims to resolve the case on the merits at the district court level before commencement of “further ground-disturbing activities” during the 2023-24 winter construction season.
May 02, 2023
Panel Vacates, Remands Groups’ Federal Fracking Lease Case, Saying It Is ‘Moot’

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals vacated and remanded a lawsuit over federal lease sales for hydraulic fracturing, with instructions to declare the case moot on grounds that none of the arguments presented by environmental groups that alleged violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is persuasive.
May 01, 2023
California Opposes Supreme Court Review Of Ruling That Nixed Offshore Fracking

WASHINGTON, D.C. — California and a state agency on April 28 filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that it should deny a petition filed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and its affiliates on grounds that the trial court correctly ruled that they violated federal law and correctly interpreted the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) when it held that permits for hydraulic fracturing off the coast of California were granted improperly (American Petroleum Institute, et al. v. Environmental Defense Center, et al., No. 22-703, U.S. Sup.).
April 26, 2023
Fracking Parties’ Patent Case Centers On Disputed Claim Construction

WACO, Texas — U.S. Well Services LLC and an affiliate have filed a brief in Texas federal court in a hydraulic fracturing patent dispute with fracking operator Halliburton Energy Services Inc. (HESI), arguing that while HESI “attempts to skirt disputes as to the proper scope of the claims,” the U.S. Well Services parties have offered claim constructions consistent with the evidence and a Texas federal court should adopt the proposed constructions.
April 26, 2023
Judge Refuses To Stay Fracking Lease Dispute, Says Compelling Reason Lacking

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal judge denied a stay in a hydraulic fracturing royalty dispute, ruling that leaseholders who are suing fracking operators have failed to demonstrate a compelling reason to pause the case and that halting the lawsuit would prejudice the defendants.
April 25, 2023
Briefly: 4th Circuit OKs Company’s Intervention In Fracking Pipeline Dispute

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has granted a pipeline company permission to intervene in a lawsuit in which environmental groups are suing the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) over its approval of a project to build a pipeline to carry hydraulically fractured natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia.
April 24, 2023
Oil Company Says Former CFO Stole Trade Secrets To Form Competing Firm

DALLAS — An oil and gas company sued a competitor in Texas federal court contending that it was formed when former employees stole trade secrets to establish the company, which led to unjust enrichment and other actions that “crippled” the plaintiff by “unfairly misappropriating the years of time and millions of dollars that [the plaintiff] spent building its investor network and its business.”
April 24, 2023
U.S. High Court Grants, Remands Fracking Pipeline Jurisdiction Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 24 granted and immediately vacated and remanded a case brought by property owners challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) eminent domain powers that were used to grant approval for the construction of a hydraulic fracturing pipeline.
April 18, 2023
Utah Monuments Plaintiffs: Intervention Order Does Not Require A Response

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah municipalities suing the Biden administration for its decision to reinstate the dimensions of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments filed a brief in federal court contending they are not required to respond to a brief filed by parties which were denied the right to intervene because the order that denied them permission was non-dispositive and the plaintiffs are not required or authorized to respond to proposed intervenors’ objections unless the court orders them to do so.
April 10, 2023
Groups Sue Ohio Over Bill Requiring Leasing Of Public Lands For Fracking

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Environmental groups have sued the state of Ohio and one of its officials in state court seeking an injunction and declaratory judgment preventing the enactment of legislation that requires state agencies to lease public lands for oil and gas development.
April 07, 2023
Fracking Company Seeks Patent Inventorship Correction, Return Of Royalties

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A company that makes equipment for use in hydraulic fracturing operations has filed an amended complaint in Texas federal court against two men the company contends have stolen royalty payments by falsely representing that they were co-inventors of certain patents. In the amended complaint the company adds claims for a declaration of “a reasonable royalty” and a declaration of patent invalidity.
April 07, 2023
Fracking Operator: Claims Fail, Relief Cannot Be Granted Under Mineral Contracts

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — A hydraulic fracturing operator filed a motion and brief in West Virginia federal court seeking partial dismissal of an amended complaint in a mineral rights dispute, arguing that the plaintiffs have not alleged that relief can be granted on a breach of contract claim based on any of the contracts held by the individual mineral rights owners.
April 07, 2023
Judge Dismisses Most Claims In Securities Fraud Case Against Fracking Sand Company

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A federal judge in Ohio has dismissed all except one claim brought by a man who says the company he invested in violated federal securities laws when it misrepresented its product, which was allegedly a high-quality sand used as a proppant for hydraulic fracturing operations.
April 06, 2023
Fracking Company Says Judge Should Compel Production Of Documents In Well Dispute

WHEELING, W.Va. — On April 5, a hydraulic fracturing company moved in West Virginia federal court seeking to compel landowners to comply with a previous agreement between the parties under which the landowners would produce a privilege log of documents and communications in a dispute over abandoned wells.
April 06, 2023
Man Seeks Punitive Damages Against Fracking Operator For Oilfield Injury

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A man who was injured while performing oil field services at a hydraulic fracturing site on April 5 filed an amended lawsuit against the operator in New Mexico federal court seeking punitive damages for the company’s “reckless conduct” that caused him harm.
April 06, 2023
Native American Group Files Emergency Motion In 9th Circuit To Stop Willow Project

SAN FRANCISCO — A Native American organization on April 5 moved in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for an emergency injunction pending appeal to halt all construction activities associated with the hydraulic fracturing development project in the National Petroleum Reserve on Alaska’s North Slope known as the Willow Project, arguing that if it is allowed to proceed, it will “irreparably harm fragile Arctic tundra, permanently alter wetlands, and displace subsistence and recreational use.”
April 06, 2023
Colorado Agency: Compliance Order Will Not Cause Fracking Operator To Suffer Harm

DENVER — The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has asked a state court to deny a drilling and well service company’s motion for a stay of a compliance order, contending that contrary to the company’s argument, it will not suffer irreparable harm if it is forced to comply.
April 06, 2023
Physicians Report: PFAS Used Extensively In Texas Fracking, Disclosure Rules Lax

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The advocacy group Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) has issued a report finding that since at least 2013, hydraulic fracturing operators in Texas used more than 43,000 pounds of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), while gaps in state disclosure rules prevent the public from knowing how widely PFAS have been used.
April 06, 2023
Judge Says Factual Dispute Over Trade Secrets Exists In Fracking Chemicals Case

DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado has partially dismissed a trade secrets lawsuit involving a company that sells chemicals to hydraulic fracturing operators, ruling that there is a factual dispute over whether the information in question is a protected trade secret.
April 06, 2023
Alaska Fracking Proponents Insist Biden Administration’s Moratorium Was Unlawful

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Hydraulic fracturing advocates have filed a brief in Alaska federal court contending that the Biden administration has failed to rebut their claims that the moratorium on fracking enacted through President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s executive order was unlawful.
April 05, 2023
Fracking Trade Groups’ Case Against Federal Agencies Stayed Pending Development Plan

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The clerk of the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has entered an order holding in abeyance a lawsuit brought by the American Petroleum Institute (API) against the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) related to what the API calls “an unlawful delay” in the DOI’s program for oil and gas leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
April 04, 2023
Judge Stays Briefing In National Monuments Case Against Biden Administration

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge in Utah on April 4 granted a motion by the Biden administration staying the briefing in a lawsuit brought by the state of Utah and two municipalities over the dimensions of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, ruling that threshold legal issues must be resolved before addressing the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment.