Successors to 1892 W.Va. Lease Seek Quiet Title for Shale Gas Drilling

WHEELING, W.Va. - Shale gas drilling partners that discovered a potential rival to their claim to their drilling rights during a title search have filed a lawsuit seeking quiet title or a declaration of adverse possession. Trans Energy Inc., et al. v. EQT Corp., No. 1:11-cv-00075-FPS (N.D. W.Va.).

Alternatively, Trans Energy Inc. and its co-plaintiffs ask the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia to declare that their claim is protected by adverse possession, as evidenced by 119 years of operation.

Plaintiffs named in the May 11 complaint include Trans Energy Inc., which was granted a permit …