Mitsui

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PA Judge Tosses Royalty Owners’ 10-Year Fracking Antitrust Lawsuit
January 13, 2026January 13, 2026

In 2015, a group of landowners in northeastern Pennsylvania who had leased their land for fracking filed a lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy, Anadarko, Statoil (now Equinor), Mitsui E&P, and Access Midstream (later bought by Williams), alleging the companies had improperly deducted post-production costs (e.g., gas gathering and transportation expenses) from royalties owed to the landowners in breach of their respective leases. The lawsuit also alleged collusion and conspiracy to defraud the landowners (antitrust violations). The lawsuit was on hold for many years while other lawsuits played out. In 2024, a federal court in Scranton unpaused the lawsuit, and the judge ruled, tossing out the landowners’ royalty claims (see Pennsylvania Drillers Defeat Landowner Lawsuit After 9 Years). There was one remaining aspect of the lawsuit: antitrust violations under the Sherman Act. We’re just learning now that the same judge ruled in late December that the royalty owners did not suffer an “antitrust injury,” dismissing the remainder of the lawsuit. Read More “PA Judge Tosses Royalty Owners’ 10-Year Fracking Antitrust Lawsuit”
Anadarko | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Mitsui | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Williams

Pennsylvania Drillers Defeat Landowner Lawsuit After 9 Years
September 4, 2024September 4, 2024

In 2015, a group of nearly 60 landowners in northeastern Pennsylvania who had leased their land for fracking filed a lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy, Anadarko, Statoil (now Equinor), Mitsui E&P, and Access Midstream (later bought by Williams), alleging the companies had improperly deducted post-production costs (e.g., gas gathering and transportation expenses) from royalties owed to the landowners in breach of their respective leases. The lawsuit also alleged collusion and conspiracy to defraud the landowners. The lawsuit was on hold for many years while other lawsuits played out. Earlier this year, a federal court in Scranton unpaused this lawsuit, and yesterday, the judge ruled, tossing out the landowners’ claims.
Read More “Pennsylvania Drillers Defeat Landowner Lawsuit After 9 Years”
Anadarko | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Equinor/Statoil | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Mitsui | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Williams

NEPA Landowners Fight to Sue Chesapeake’s Partners
June 12, 2017June 12, 2017

We’re going to take a stab at this, and we are not confident we will get it 100% right. With that as a warning, we recently reported that a case brought by landowners in northeastern PA against Chesapeake Energy over unwarranted royalty deductions suffered a bit of a setback (see Chesapeake Scores Court Victory to Prevent PA Royalty Class Action). Essentially, the landowners (in this case Scout Energy) argued that since the leases signed say royalty disputes must go to arbitration, we want mass arbitration. A class action, in other words. In May, U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann of the Middle District of Pennsylvania (overseeing the case) issued an opinion that said Chesapeake is right in demanding each case get arbitrated individually–not as part of a class action. The landowners in four cases (all of which seem to be joined, or at least moving along together) filed briefs last week to make a new argument. And here’s where we are not 100% sure, but we think the argument is this: OK, we have to go to arbitration and now it has to be individually. However, there are other defendants named in the case (Anadarko, Williams, Statoil, Mitsui E&P). Since the lease language says the lease is between the landowner and the driller (i.e. Chesapeake), that means the other defendants are NOT covered by the arbitration clause and we (the landowners) can still sue them as a class action. Why? Because (allegedly) those companies colluded together with Chesapeake to “reduce, restrain or eliminate competition for gas and mineral rights, operations rights and gathering serves in multiple counties in Northern Pennsylvania.” Oy vey! It keeps getting more complicated as the days go by…
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Recent Marcellus Shale Joint Venture Deals
August 19, 2011August 19, 2011

Joint ventures are a common way for oil and gas companies to share risk, expertise and resources. Here is a list of recent deals in the Marcellus shale:

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