Pa. Supreme Court decides consumer protection law can’t be used to sue oil and gas companies over leases
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
In a recent decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided the state attorney general’s office can’t invoke the state’s consumer protection law to sue Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. on behalf of landowners who claim they didn’t get fair deals in leasing their mineral rights, according to Penn Live.
The high court concluded only buyers are protected from being swindled under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law — not sellers.
Therefore, that law cannot be used in the case the attorney general’s office filed against Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. because those firms were buying, not selling, leases to secure rights to oil and natural gas reserves beneath land the property owners possess in Marcellus Shale regions of the state, Justice Sallie Mundy wrote in the Supreme Court’s majority opinion.
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Shale FAQ
How often do royalty payments come?
Depending on the company, royalty payments can arrive monthly or quarterly.
Are my royalty payments transferable?
Yes. If you plan on selling your property, notify the gas company that is leasing your land and your realtor. They will make arrangements to allow the royalty payments to transfer to a different land owner.
What are royalties?
Royalties are payments from the gas company to the landowner as part of a lease agreement. Royalties payments cannot begin until production begins. The payments are dependent upon the market price of the resource.