Harrison v. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.

887 F. Supp. 2d 588, 2012 WL 3542382, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114534
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 14, 2012
DocketNo. 3:10-CV-312
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 887 F. Supp. 2d 588 (Harrison v. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harrison v. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., 887 F. Supp. 2d 588, 2012 WL 3542382, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114534 (M.D. Pa. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROBERT D. MARIANI, District Judge.

I. Introduction

Before the Court is Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 41) on Plaintiffs claim of fraudulent inducement and Defendant’s counterclaim for equitable extension of the lease agreement. For the reasons set forth below, the Court will grant Defendant’s motion with respect to Plaintiffs claim, deny Defendant’s motion with respect to its counterclaim, and grant summary judgment sua sponte in favor of Plaintiff on Defendant’s counterclaim. As such, the Court will deny Defendant’s request for oral argument (Doc. 50) as moot.

II. Statement of Facts and Procedural History

Plaintiffs filed suit on February 11, 2010, two-and-a-half years after signing the Lease with Defendant Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation (“Defendant” or “Cabot”). (Doc. 1). Following an order granting in part and denying in part Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 14), the sole remaining count in the Amended Complaint (Doc. 15) is fraudulent inducement, and Defendant has asserted a counterclaim for equitable extension of the Lease. In Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint, they allege that Cabot’s representative, Matthew Gayley, told Mr. Harrison that Cabot “would never pay any more than $100.00 per acre so he better take the $100.00 per acre and that the Plaintiff will never get anymore [sic ].” (Doc. 15, ¶¶ 7,12).

Plaintiff owns the property at issue in Susquehanna County.1 (Doc. 15, Ex. A). The parties first made contact when Mr. [590]*590Harrison received a letter dated August 6, 2007 from Gayley expressing an interest in leasing Plaintiffs property for exploratory drilling. (Doc. 47, Ex. B). In the letter, Gayley represented that Cabot had “already drilled one well in Dimock Township” which “looks to be very promising and profitable.” (Id.). He also stated that at the depth Cabot was “planning to drill, which is 7,000 to 14,000 feet, gas formations can extend for thousands of feet in any direction.”2 (Id.). Gayley stated that Cabot was “willing to compensate you in the form of a signing bonus of $100 per acre as well as l/8th royalty on all gas produced by a well near or on your property.” (Id.). Should Plaintiff execute a lease agreement, he would receive his bonus check in the amount of $5,665.00 within sixty days. (Id.). Finally, Gayley asked Plaintiff to contact him by phone if he (Harrison) were interested in learning more about this opportunity. (Id.).

Plaintiff testified in his deposition that after receiving the letter, he spoke with Gayley, perhaps three times by telephone before signing the Lease. (W. Harrison Dep., Doc. 44, Ex. A, 36:17-21). During the first call “in the middle of August,” Gayley allegedly told Plaintiff that the offer was “a hundred dollars an acre.” (Id. at 30:10-15). In response, Plaintiff “asked him if they could pay any more.” (Id. at 30:19-21). Gayley’s response was “[t]hat’s all they was [sic ] paying.” (Id. at 31:4-8). Plaintiff stated that during that first conversation, Gayley did not mention anything about what Cabot would be willing to pay in the future (Id. at 31:9-12), nor did he articulate whether the $100 per acre offer was (1) what Cabot would be willing to pay for Plaintiffs property only, (2) what Cabot was offering Plaintiffs in particular county, or (3) what Cabot was offering throughout Pennsylvania. (Id. at 31:13-21). All that Gayley said was “[t]hat’s all they was [sic] paying, ...” (Id. at 31:19— 21).

Counsel for Cabot then asked Mr. Harrison whether Gayley ever made the statements he was alleged to have made in the Amended Complaint. Plaintiff said Mr. Gayley “probably did.” (Id. at 48:8-15). When Plaintiff was informed by Counsel for Cabot that Gayley denied ever making such statements, Plaintiff responded, “Well, he did.” (Id. at 49:3-9).

Upon being pressed for Gayley’s exact words, Plaintiff responded, “That they would never pay more than a hundred dollars and [sic ] acre.” (Id. at 49:13-15). In response to the same question later, Plaintiff stated Gayley’s exact words were “that’s all that I would be getting. You know, they said most of the people was [sic] getting 25.” (Id. at 50:11-15). Plaintiff also confirmed that Gayley “never said ... anything about what other natural gas or oil producers might be willing to pay.” (Id. at 52:15-21). Counsel for Cabot repeatedly asked whether Mr. Harrison was sure that was all Gayley said, and Plaintiff repeatedly answered in the affirmative. (Id. at 50:19-52:14). Plaintiff also stated that despite having the opportunity to, he never consulted a lawyer before signing the Lease. (Id. at 34:3-23). He also admitted that he did not discuss the issue with his neighbors to determine what lease terms they had been offered before he signed the Lease. (Id. at 34:24-35:4).

Mr. Harrison signed the Oil and Gas Lease (“Lease”) on August 16, 2007. (Doc. 15, Ex. A). The term of the lease was for “five (5) years from this date ... and as long thereafter as oil or gas is produced, or considered produced under the terms of this lease, in paying quantities [591]*591from the premises or from lands pooled therewith ...” (Id. at ¶ 2). The Lease provided for a bonus payment to Plaintiff Harrison of $100 per acre plus a l/8th royalty on any natural gas produced from the property. (Id. at ¶ 3; Doc. 24).

Defendant moved for summary judgment on both Plaintiffs claim and its own counterclaim. (Doc. 41). Thereafter, Plaintiff filed a brief in opposition and accompanying statement of facts,3 along with an affidavit from Mr. Harrison. (Doc. 47). In his affidavit, Mr. Harrison swore that he had been “confused [at his deposition] and did not fully understand the question” regarding what Cabot was willing to pay. (Doc. 47, Ex. C, ¶ 12). He also stated that he was “confused as to whether I could have the questioned explained more.” (Id. at ¶ 13). He went on to say that Gayley represented to him that Cabot would pay no landowner more than $100.00 per acre but that he was aware that Cabot had paid more than $3,000 per acre as a bonus payment to “many other landowners.” (Id. at ¶¶ 14-15).

III. Standard of Review on Motions for Summary Judgment

Through summary adjudication the court may dispose of those claims that do not present a “genuine issue as to any material fact.” Fed. R. Crv. P. 56(a). Summary judgment “should be rendered if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Crv. P. 56(c); Turner v. Schering-Plough Corp., 901 F.2d 335, 340 (3d Cir. 1990). “As to materiality, ... [o]nly disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue as to any material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett,

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887 F. Supp. 2d 588, 2012 WL 3542382, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114534, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harrison-v-cabot-oil-gas-corp-pamd-2012.