Litigation

Oil, Gas, and Energy Litigation

Oil, Gas, and Energy Litigation

Oil, gas, and coal have brought significant economic growth to Western Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, this economic growth means that disputes are practically inevitable. Whether you are facing an informal dispute or a high stakes lawsuit, Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky’s team of litigators is here to help you achieve your objectives and protect your rights.

Our oil and gas practice group team features litigators who are experienced in:

  • Oil and gas lease disputes
  • Property ownership disputes
  • Business litigation and contract disputes
  • Employment disputes
  • Municipal litigation
  • Personal injury and wrongful death

If you have a dispute related to oil and gas, our team of lawyers can help.

Helping Landowners

With the expansion of the oil and gas industry, SMGG is seeing more and more disputes over land ownership and lease enforceability (i.e., whether a lease is valid or not). The oil and gas industry will continue to grow, likely bringing more disputes related to compliance with leases and determinations of royalty payment amounts.

If you own oil and gas rights or have a lease, SMGG’s litigators can help with:

  • Filing suit to determine your rights (a quiet title action or a declaratory judgment action)
  • Enforcing lease rights
  • Lease disputes
  • Pipeline and gas storage condemnation suits
  • Trespass claims
  • Property damage claims
  • Royalty payment disputes

SMGG represents clients in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. If you believe that your rights are being violated, contact us to discuss your options.

Helping Businesses and Service Companies

Since 1919, SMGG has been representing businesses in Western Pennsylvania courtrooms. Our team of litigators takes a collaborative approach. To best understand a given dispute, SMGG’s litigators often work with other attorneys at SMGG who have experience in transactional disciplines (such as real estate or mergers & acquisitions).

Our oil and gas practice group includes litigators who can assist your business with:

  • Contract disputes
  • Title disputes
  • Fraud, unfair competition, commercial disparagement
  • Enforcing non-compete agreements
  • Injunctions and intellectual property protection
  • Wage and hour claims (F.L.S.A., P.M.W.A.)
  • Discrimination claims (A.D.A., A.D.E.A., Title VII)

SMGG’s Oil, Gas, and Energy Litigation group is here to help with any dispute your business may be facing.

Helping Executives and Transitioning Employees in the Oil and Gas Industry

Changing jobs in a competitive industry can be a difficult task. In an industry where companies aggressively protect their competitive edge, transitioning employees may find themselves facing accusations of intellectual property theft, trade secrets theft, or violations of a non-compete agreement.

Sometimes a former employer will file a lawsuit called an injunction to try to stop a person from taking a new job. Injunctions can be high-stress, high-stakes lawsuits. They are often litigated in days or weeks, as opposed to months or years. SMGG’s litigators stand up to any opponent under that pressure.

If you are facing an injunction filed by a former employer, contact an attorney at SMGG to discuss your options.

Helping Municipalities

Horizontal shale drilling presents new issues that municipalities did not face in the past. SMGG is a one-stop shop for municipalities facing these complex disputes. SMGG’s Oil, Gas and Energy Litigation Group collaborates with our Public Sector and Nonprofit practice group to represent municipalities with oil and gas related disputes, including:

  • Defending challenges to ordinances
  • Defending municipal hearing determinations
  • Litigating contract disputes related to oil and gas

If your municipality needs assistance with these matters or other matters related to oil and gas, SMGG’s team of litigators can help.

Helping People Injured By the Oil, Gas, or Energy Industries

More drilling, more traffic, more chemicals, more flammable materials: these all lead to an increased likelihood of injury.

SMGG’s Oil, Gas, and Energy Litigation Group features attorneys who have represented clients in catastrophic personal injury cases and wrongful death cases. Whether an oil and gas-related accident has occurred on your property, on a highway, or on the jobsite, SMGG’s Oil, Gas, and Energy Litigation Group is here to help you recover for your injuries.

We are here to help with virtually any type of personal injury, including:

  • Falls
  • Burns
  • Electrocution and shock
  • Automobile accidents and machinery accidents
  • Brain injury
  • Injury due to environmental hazards
  • Death

Experience serving the oil, gas, and energy industry

Landowners, businesses, executives, municipalities, individuals: if it involves oil and gas, we can help. For more information, please contact Harry F. Kunselman or Gretchen E. Moore.

We represent clients in a variety of Litigation areas, including:

Litigation Attorneys

Litigation Featured News

After 100 Years, Consent to Personal Jurisdiction by Registering to Do Business Remains Constitutional
After 100 Years, Consent to Personal Jurisdiction by Registering to Do Business Remains Constitutional
In Mallory v. Norfolk Southern R. Co., the Supreme Court sought to answer an important personal jurisdiction question: whether the Due Process Clause ... READ MORE
A Request for Pre and/or Post Judgment Interest is Made Via a Rule 59(e) Motion, right?  Wrong.
A Request for Pre and/or Post Judgment Interest is Made Via a Rule 59(e) Motion, right? Wrong.
Under Federal Rule 59(e) (Motion to Alter or Amend a Judgment), a motion to alter or amend a judgment must be filed no later than 28 days after the ... READ MORE