While lawsuits against natural gas drillers are causing a stir among West Virginia lawmakers, the first in a series of those suits is headed back for another shot at settlement through mediation, following a hearing Friday in Charleston.
A three-judge panel hearing the cases against Antero Natural Resources and Hall Drilling said that they wanted the parties to take part in another mediation session after lawyers for the residents dropped one of their two major claims, an allegation that the natural gas companies were operating in a negligent manner.
Alan Moats, a Taylor County circuit judge who heads the panel, encouraged the companies and the residents to try to come up with a settlement that would allow natural gas production to continue, but reduce the impacts on nearby residents and communities.
"If there's anything that can be done that would lessen the impacts these people are experiencing, if we could do that, it would be more important than money," Moats said.
The parties agreed that they would meet again with McDowell Circuit Judge Booker Stephens, who led a previous mediation session that did not produce a settlement.
Moats led Friday's surprisingly brief hearing, which had been scheduled for arguments on major motions that are pending and need to be resolved before trial. That trial, scheduled for July, is the first in a series of cases filed in at least seven counties by more than 200 people who allege Marcellus Shale operations by the gas industry are disrupting their lives.
The suits, first filed in October 2013, outline concerns regarding noise, dust, excessive traffic, bright lights and a variety of other effects of the boom in the natural gas industry in northern West Virginia. Cases are pending in Doddridge, Harrison, Kanawha, Marion, Monongalia, Pleasants and Ritchie counties. Antero and Hall Drilling, which operate as partners at many sites, are the defendants in almost all of the cases.
In November 2014, the state Supreme Court referred the cases to West Virginia's Mass Litigation Panel, which often is used to handle complex lawsuits that involve common issues of law and fact, but also involve large numbers of plaintiffs or multiple defendants.
Lawmakers have become interested in the Marcellus cases, and earlier this week the state Senate passed a bill that supports say is aimed at putting a stop to such suits.
Attorneys for the residents, including Charleston lawyers Anthony Majestro and Jim Peterson, brought the cases as nuisance suits, alleging that the industry activity constitutes an unlawful interference with the residents' use and enjoyment of their property. The lawyers originally claimed negligence by drilling companies, but have since dropped those claims.
In SB508, lawmakers want to narrow the ability of residents to bring nuisance suits. The measure would give defendants a "permit shield" if they have some sort of government authorization for their activities.
Reach Ken Ward Jr. at kward@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1702 or follow @kenwardjr on Twitter.