PHILLYBURBS: Long-standing case law on the ownership of below-ground minerals and natural gas that has guided the booming natural gas industry since it began exploring the vast Marcellus Shale formation is still in force, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The case raised legal questions about whether natural gas trapped in the thick shale is somehow different than natural gas in different formations, and had the potential to up end some of the leases between property owners and the natural gas industry.
But the court sided unanimously with a Susquehanna County couple in ruling that legal precedent going back at least 130 years “remains viable and controlling.” … (more)
It is refreshing to see the high courts respect precedent and not wander willy nilly creating something that did not previously exist.