Harrison v. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. – District Court rejects fraud claim against Cabot

On August 14^th, the District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania granted Defendant Cabot’s motion, denying the Harrisons' claim of fraud, and granted summary judgment to the Harrisons on Cabot’s counterclaim for extension of the lease. The Harrisons filed suit for fraud against Cabot two years after signing an oil and gas lease, alleging that Matthew Gayley, a representative working for Cabot, told them that Cabot would “never pay more than $100.00 per acre” for natural gas leases. Cabot filed a counterclaim for extension of the lease. The court denied the Harrison’s claim of fraud, but also denied Cabot’s counterclaim for extension of the lease. The court reasoned that a statement based on a representative’s prediction of future intentions cannot be fraudulent unless there is proof that Gayley knowingly misstated his state of mind. Furthermore, there is no proof that the Harrisons relied on Gayleys statement when signing the lease.

Written by Joseph Negaard, Research Assistant
Penn State Law, Agricultural Law Center

August 27, 2012

Click Here for the Harrison Opinion