Already Leased?
Have you received a lease extension notice?
Dear TLC Members,
You may have received a letter or notice from your developer (gas company) alerting you to an extension of your lease. Do not assume these extensions are accurate. We strongly urge you to review this matter with your attorney before signing any paperwork or cashing any checks! You could be obligating yourself to a new binding set of requirements.
These leases are difficult to understand. If you want input on when your current lease ends, pull together your paperwork - the original lease & any letters or checks you may have received. Having all of the papers together will help the attorney review them efficiently.
If you believe your lease has ended, this needs to be recorded formally on your deed. Some developers are slow in taking care of this step. Pull your paperwork together and hire an attorney to get closure.
If you do not have an attorney, TLC is now partnered with:
Scott R. Kurkoski, Esq.
Levene, Gouldin & Thompson, LLP
450 Plaza Drive, Vestal, New York 13850
Phone: 607-584-5620 Fax: 607-763-9211
E-mail: skurkoski@binghamtonlaw.com
http://www.binghamtonlaw.com
Leases differ from one another so they need to be reviewed on a case by case basis. Scott’s firm charges $250 per hour. They are very experienced with gas leases. If you have all of your paperwork organized, and clearly state what you want to know, this will streamline the process. Your cost may be as little as $80 for a review of your lease on this issue.
Best regards,
TLC Leadership
607-657-8200
http://www.tompkinsgaslease.org
Meeting: February 16, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP has formed a team of attorneys prepared to start lawsuits against all oil and gas companies attempting to extend New York leases beyond their expiration dates. Those companies will include, but are not limited to, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Norse Energy and Inflection Energy. The team consists of Scott Kurkoski, Cindy Manchester, Phil Johnson, Gary Farneti, Mike Wright and Maria Lisi-Murray. Attached is a description of the team members. Click here to download the team member document.
Many landowners have received letters from their oil and gas companies claiming their leases have been extended. These claims have been based on payment of delay rental or “force majeure”. We contend that force majeure has no application to the facts at hand. During the entire primary term of these leases, gas companies were at liberty to develop the leased premises. Many companies, including Norse Energy and Inflection Energy, have maintained active drilling programs. The so called “moratorium” is only in regard to high volume hydraulic fracturing under the Generic Environmental Impact Statement. All other methods of drilling including horizontal gas fracs, are permissible in New York.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation has been sending landowners lease extension letters with respect to leases that were originally signed by Central Appalachian Petroleum (CAP). Most of these leases are ten (10) years old and were signed at $3.00 per acre. Chesapeake contends that payment of a modest delay rental payment extends a lease indefinitely and in perpetuity at the sole discretion of the Lessee - essentially granting Chesapeake a perpetual, unilateral option to renew. We strongly disagree. Leases in perpetuity are not favored in New York. Delay rental clauses contained in a boiler plate lease are intended to keep the lease in force only within the primary term.
The Attorney General’s Office has been negotiating with Chesapeake on the CAP leases for over a year. Unfortunately, the Attorney General has been unable to reach a resolution. Additionally, the Attorney General's office is not addressing the Phillips Production Company lease currently held by Chesapeake and Victory Energy leases currently held by Inflection Energy and MegaEnergy. Norse Energy has also started sending landowners lease extension letters but the Attorney General’s position on these leases is still unknown.
Levene Gouldin & Thompson will hold an informational meeting for landowners on February 16, 2011 at 6:30 pm. at the Tioughnioga Riverside Academy, formerly the Whitney Point Middle School at 2887 NY Route 11 in Whitney Point. If you have an interest in these issues, feel free, with no obligation, to complete the attached questionnaire and return it to Levene Gouldin & Thompson by mail, fax or e-mail. Click here to download the landowner questionnaire.
We believe that gas companies have made an economic decision to attempt to extend their New York leases, hoping that landowners will not contest their position. We simply cannot permit this to happen. Many landowners will be locked into low paying, poorly worded leases, unless they assert their rights. We hope all affected landowners will join us on February 16, 2011, to learn about their options.
Click here to download the team member document.
Click here to download the landowner questionnaire.
Scott R. Kurkoski, Esq.
Levene, Gouldin & Thompson, LLP
450 Plaza Drive, Vestal, New York 13850
Phone: 607-584-5620 Fax: 607-763-9211
http://www.binghamtonlaw.com
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