Federal Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit Over 1916 Oil & Gas Lease

PITTSBURGH - A Pennsylvania federal judge has denied an energy firm's bid to dismiss a lawsuit over the validity of a 1916 minerals lease, saying that landowners could have a viable claim based on the lease's "surrender clause" or an implied duty to produce or terminate the contract. The Delmas Ray Burkett II Revocable Trust, et al. v. EXCO Resources (PA) LLC, No. 2:11-cv-1394 (W.D. Pa.).

Judge Mark R. Hornak of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania said in his March 26 order that the implied duty recognized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the Jacobs …