PA Supreme Court to hear Marcellus gas rights case

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of a dispute over Marcellus Shale natural-gas rights that could affect thousands of drilling leases in the state. Pennsylvania landowners John and Mary Butler are challenging an intermediate appeals court ruling that called for scientific opinion on whether Marcellus Shale gas should be considered a mineral under an 1882 decision of the Supreme Court. In the trial court, the Butlers won their claim to the natural gas rights. The case arose from a dispute between the Butlers and the heirs of an 1881 deed governing 244 acres.