Our land is being drilled under!

We just found out our land is being drilled under in Clinton District, Mon county, WV.

Chesapeake has drilled 3 wells on the same property and the first one has passed right under our land not far from the wellhead.

We found out by contacting the DEP rep who sent us the plats. 

All along we have wondered about this because the land is not quite a mile from us. 

We matched it all up and they are indeed below us.

So, now what do we do?

Thanks!

 

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Permalink Reply by JK on February 18, 2012 at 5:58pm

Well now it looks like a judge is going to have to bang the gavel on this one.

I had a title search done to confirm and found out lots of information including the fact that my grandfather sold the surface 3 times from 1927 to 1933. The KEY here is the "Resolution Deed" states his intentions of retaining the mineral rights.  One problem, or not, is that the second buyer did not record the deed until 3 years later.

I know it's been a while since my last update but alot has been done to quantify and that takes time.

So now I am STILL looking for an O&G attorney to handle this case. We still have to prove ownership and this case must be heard and ruled on.  We have no choice!  We have paid the taxes since the 20's! More to say later.

Permalink Reply by Billy Park Whyde on February 18, 2012 at 7:24pm

This will be interesting, I however would try like H to get a jury over a judge! With gas prices going up no jury is going to be in luv with a oil company. 

Permalink Reply by John Mackey on February 19, 2012 at 3:09am

I have retained an attorney, and cannot express how valuable that is to this complicated process. The secrect to this is to retain the best attorney -- it carries weight within negotiations and if/when you get to court. You are in a battle -- arm yourself with the best possible weaponry. JK, noone outside your county can answer that for you -- you must through research and networking. If I were you I would listen to all advice, but pay special attention to the locals.

 

 

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on February 19, 2012 at 6:25am

I'm not sure I would agree with the jury thing. A very close relative was a Common Pleas court bailiff for a number of years and their take was that if you can get even close to what you want in an out of court settlement then you should take it because you can't trust a jury about 1/3 of the time. I don't like those odds. This relative saw over and over where a jury came back with a verdict that left everyone scratching their heads. The last time I was called for jury duty, I was amazed and disgusted at the lack of respect many prospective jurists had for the legal process. The whole notion of jury duty was viewed as more of a nuisance than anything to them. I have been called to serve again for another 2 month term beginning mid-March so maybe hopefully things will be better this time.

Permalink Reply by dr j on February 19, 2012 at 6:54am

I am with you on avoiding most juries.  I have been called as an expert witness a couple of times and have been stunned and amazed at not only the direction a case can take but a juries inability to correctly interpret the facts even when presented concisely and correctly.    

Permalink Reply by Billy Park Whyde on February 19, 2012 at 7:48am

 DrJ in most cases I have seen the attorneys are on the dark so it makes a jury even more confused in most cases. 

Jim ShoosPermalink Reply by Jim Shoos on February 19, 2012 at 4:58am

Steptoe & Johnson.... ask for Sharon Flannary

FYI...contrary to what Billy stated, your legal dispute isn't going to be against Chesapeake, its going to be whomever is claiming the mineral estate that your Grandfather thought he was reserving.  Chesapeake will likely be involved since they would like to establish the validity of their lease, but Chesapeake's rights are predicated on the various transactions that occurred 50 years ago.

Permalink Reply by Billy Park Whyde on February 19, 2012 at 5:57am

 I would assume however that a encroachment has been committed thus Chesapeake would be held accountable, no different than a accident with a semi truck. You go after the company for

 negligence.    You as a rule do not go after the manufacturer of the truck.  The negligence would be that Chesapeake did not do a through title search. Now Chesapeake would then go after the title company if they contracted that title company to have done the title search.

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on February 19, 2012 at 6:39am

You are correct about CHK and encroachment, assuming JK can prove mineral ownership but the encroachment issue will mostly take care of itself IF mineral ownership can be established by JK.

The primary issue is now establishing WHO actually owns those mineral rights as Jim Shoos said. The encroachment issue is secondary and can't even be approached until true ownership is established.

Permalink Reply by JK on February 20, 2012 at 1:37pm

Well Jim,

I did call Sharon Flannary today.

SHE WORKS FOR CHK!

Permalink Reply by JK on July 5, 2012 at 4:25am

This saga continues folks..

We've had a title certification done..

It's all good.

Now for THE next step..

3rdk2fq1zz77dPermalink Reply by 3rdk2fq1zz77d on July 5, 2012 at 4:46am

Send a copy to CHK...  Jason Blose (attorney in house). 

Jason Blose

Associate Attorney

Chesapeake Energy

Office: (405) 935-6295

Fax: (405) 849-6295

jason.blose@chk.com

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