Justia Energy, Oil & Gas Law Opinion Summaries

The Public Utilities Commission approved a capacity charge for the American Electric Power operating companies - Ohio Power Company and Columbus Southern Power (collectively, AEP) - and authorized AEP to implement a new cost-based charge for capacity service that AEP offers to competitive retail electric service (CRES) providers. The Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) appealed, and AEP cross-appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed the Commission’s orders in part and reversed them in part, holding (1) OCC’s propositions of law failed; and (2) AEP identified one instance where the Commission committed reversible error. Remanded. View "In re Comm’n Review of the Capacity Charges of Ohio Power Co." on Justia Law

These consolidated actions involved an original action in the Supreme Court and an appeal of a judgment of the court of appeals and concerned the interpretation of several nearly identical oil and gas leases. In the original action, Relator, an absent and unnamed plaintiff in a class action, challenged the court of appeals’ order tolling the leases in the class action pending appeal and sought writs of prohibition and mandamus. The appeal challenged the court of appeals’ interpretation of the leases in the class action. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals in the class action, holding that the court of appeals correctly interpreted the leases; (2) denied a writ of mandamus or prohibition in the original action because Relator had an adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law by moving to intervene in the appeal and because the court of appeals did not patently and unambiguously lack jurisdiction to issue an order tolling the leases; and (3) denied the motions of the appellee in the appeal to toll the terms of the leases. View "State ex rel. Claugus Family Farm, L.P. v. Seventh Dist. Court of Appeals" on Justia Law

The parties in this case disputed who was the legal owner or holder of certain mineral rights. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Eastern Division concluded that the interpretation of Ohio’s Dormant Mineral Act in the context of an oil and gas lease was determinative of the case and certified certain questions to the Supreme Court for answers. The questions were as follows: (1) whether a recorded lease of a severed subsurface mineral estate is a title transaction under the Act, and (2) whether the expiration of a recorded lease and the reversion of the rights granted under that lease is a title transaction that restarts the twenty-year forfeiture clock under the Act at the time of the reversion. The Supreme Court answered (1) a recorded lease of severed oil and gas rights is a title transaction under Ohio Rev. Code 5301.56(B)(3)(a) that constitutes a saving event to preclude the severed mineral rights from being deemed abandoned and reunited with the rights to the corresponding surface property; but (2) the unrecorded expiration of such a lease is not a title transaction that restarts the twenty-year clock under the Act. View "Chesapeake Exploration, LLC v. Buell" on Justia Law