Roth v. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.

• Decision Date: 30 January 2013
• Docket Number: No. 3:12–cv–898.,3:12–cv–898.
• Citation: 91 A.L.R.6th 763,919 F.Supp.2d 476
• Parties: Frederick J. ROTH and Debra A. Roth, Plaintiffs, v. CABOT OIL & GAS CORPORATION, Gassearch Drilling Corporation, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania

919 F.Supp.2d 476

91 A.L.R.6th 763

Frederick J. ROTH and Debra A. Roth, Plaintiffs,

v.CABOT OIL & GAS CORPORATION, Gassearch Drilling Corporation, Defendants.

No. 3:12–cv–898.

United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania.

Jan. 30, 2013.

Jose A. Almanzar, Tate J. Kunkle, Napoli Bern Ripka Shrolnik & Associates, LLP, New York, NY, William S. Berman, Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP, Marlton, NJ, for Plaintiffs.

Amy L. Barrette, Michael P. Gaetani, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP, Canonsburg, PA, Andrew John Torrant, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., Houston, TX, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

JOHN E. JONES III, District Judge.

Presently pending before the Court is the Motion to Dismiss (doc. 50) filed by Defendants Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation and GasSearch Drilling Corporation seeking dismissal of the Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint (doc. 1) in its entirety. The Motion has been fully briefed and is thus ripe for our review. For the reasons articulated herein, we will grant in part and deny in part the said Motion.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiffs Frederick J. and Debra A. Roth commenced the above-captioned action against Defendants Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation and GasSearch Drilling Corporation by filing a Complaint in the Court of Common Pleas of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, where it was docketed at 2012–324CP. ( See Doc. 1, Ex. A). The Defendants removed the action to this Court by filing a Notice of Removal (doc. 1) on May 14, 2012. The Defendants responded with a Motion to Strike (doc. 13) and Motion to Dismiss (doc. 15) on June 25, 2012, both of which were filed contemporaneously with supporting briefs. Thereafter, on July 20, 2012, the Defendants file a Motion for a Lone Pine Order (doc. 33) and supporting papers. Therein, the Defendants asserted that the nature of this case, in particular the complex factual predicate and the potential for expensive and time-consuming discovery, warrants a modified case management track requiring the Plaintiffs to make a prima facie showing of exposure, injury, and causation before proceeding to discovery.¹

On July 31, 2012, the Court convened a telephonic case management conference with the primary purpose of discussing the Lone Pine motion. In an attempt at conciliation, and to the agreement of the parties, the Court directed that the parties confer and attempt to resolve the issue without judicial intervention. The Court advised that the filing of opposition papers would indicate that the parties deemed an amicable resolution to be unattainable. The Court also granted Plaintiffs' oral request for leave to file an Amended Complaint, which Plaintiffs subsequently filed on August 6, 2012 (doc. 42), effectively mooting the then pending Motion to Strike and Motion to Dismiss. On August 17, 2012, Plaintiffs filed their opposition papers to the Lone Pine Motion (doc. 45), indicating to the Court that the parties were unable to resolve the issue amongst themselves. We thus referred the Lone Pine Motion to Magistrate Judge Martin C. Carlson for resolution. (Docs. 47–48). After an unavailing telephonic conference call with the parties, Magistrate Judge Carlson issued a Memorandum and Order (doc. 57) denying the Defendants' request for a Lone Pine order, finding it preferable instead to remain within the dictates of the rules of civil procedure and the standard case management track.

On September 4, 2012, the Defendants filed the instant Motion to Dismiss (doc. 50) contemporaneously with a supporting brief (doc. 51). The Plaintiffs filed opposition papers (doc. 55) on October 9, 2012, and on November 14, 2012, the Defendants filed a reply brief (doc. 62). The Motion to Dismiss is thus fully ripe for the Court's review.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

In considering a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), courts “accept all factual allegations as true, construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and determine whether, under any reasonable reading of the complaint, the plaintiff may be entitled to relief.” Phillips v. Cnty. of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 231 (3d Cir.2008) (quoting Pinker v. Roche Holdings, Ltd., 292 F.3d 361, 374 n. 7 (3d Cir.2002)). In resolving a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), a court generally should consider only the allegations in the complaint, as well as “documents that are attached or submitted with the complaint, ... and any matters incorporated by reference or integral to the claim, items subject to judicial notice, matters of public record, orders, [and] items appearing in the record of the case.” Buck v. Hampton Twp. Sch. Dist., 452 F.3d 256, 260 (3d Cir.2006).

A Rule 12(b)(6) motion tests the sufficiency of the complaint against the pleading requirements of Rule 8(a). Rule 8(a)(2) requires that a complaint contain a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, “in order to give the defendant fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)). While a complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss need not contain detailed factual allegations, it must contain “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). To survive a motion to dismiss, a civil plaintiff must allege facts that “raise a right to relief above the speculative level....” Victaulic Co. v. Tieman, 499 F.3d 227, 235 (3d Cir.2007) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955). Accordingly, to satisfy the plausibility standard, the complaint must indicate that defendant's liability is more than a “sheer possibility.” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949. “Where a complaint pleads facts that are ‘merely consistent with’ a defendant's liability, it ‘stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.’ ” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955).

Under the two-pronged approach articulated in Twombly and later expounded upon and formalized in Iqbal, a district court must first identify all factual allegations that constitute nothing more than “legal conclusions” or “naked assertions.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Such allegations are “not entitled to the assumption of truth” and must be disregarded for purposes of resolving a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1950. Next, the district court must identify “the ‘nub’ of the ... complaint—the well-pleaded, nonconclusory factual allegation[s].” Id. Taking these allegations as true, the district judge must then determine whether the complaint states a plausible claim for relief. See id.

However, “a complaint may not be dismissed merely because it appears unlikely that the plaintiff can prove those facts or will ultimately prevail on the merits.” Phillips, 515 F.3d at 231 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556–57, 127 S.Ct. 1955). Rule 8 “does not impose a probability requirement at the pleading stage, but instead simply calls for enough facts to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of the necessary element.” Id. at 234.

III. STATEMENT OF FACTS

In accordance with the standard of review applicable to a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the following facts are derived from Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint (doc. 42) and accepted as true for purposes of resolving the instant Motion.

Plaintiffs Frederick J. and Debra A. Roth are husband and wife and are the owners of property located at 2638 SR 3021 in Springville, Pennsylvania (“the Property”), where they have resided for more than thirty-five (35) years. (Doc. 42, ¶¶ 2–3). Defendant Cabot Oil and Gas Corporation (“Cabot”) is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas which engages in various oil and gas exploration and production activities in the Commonwealth. ( Id. ¶ 5). Defendant GasSearch Drilling Services Corporation (“GasSearch”) is located in Parkersburg, West Virginia and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cabot which also engages in the drilling and servicing of oil and gas wells. ( Id. ¶ 6). At all times relevant to this action, Defendants owned and operated several natural gas wells and engaged in natural gas exploration and production in the Dimock and Springville Townships of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. ( Id. ¶ 10–11). Gas wells drilled, owned, and operated by the Defendants include, among others, D. Berry # 2 Gas Well (API # 37–115–20238), D. Berry # 3 Gas Well (API # 37–115–20367), D. Berry # 4 Gas Well (API # 37–115–20368), and D. Berry # 5 Gas Well (API # 37–115–20369) (collectively “Wells”). ( Id.). These Wells were located less than 1,000 feet from the Plaintiffs' Property and residence. ( Id. ¶ 13).

A representative of Cabot visited the Plaintiffs' Property in or about March of 2008 for the purpose of executing an oil and gas lease agreement (“Gas Lease”) in order to obtain the legal right to drill on or near Plaintiffs' Property and extract natural gas from the Property. ( Id. ¶¶ 16–17). Cabot's representative warranted the following to the Plaintiffs in negotiating the lease: that Cabot would test Plaintiffs' pond and water supplies prior to and after commencement of drilling operations to ensure that the water would not be adversely affected; that Cabot would timely and fully disclose the test results to Plaintiffs; that Plaintiffs' persons, property, and land resources would be undisturbed by said operations; that Plaintiffs' quality of life and use and enjoyment of the Property would not be disrupted or adversely affected; that if Cabot's operations do adversely affect the Property, Cabot would immediately disclose that information to Plaintiffs and take, at its sole expense, all steps necessary to return the Property to pre-drilling conditions; and that Cabot would...