In a recent decision, the Pennsylvania Superior Court gave diligent landowners powerful protection against unwanted subsurface activity. In Sabella v. Appalachian Development, 2014 Pa. Super. 237 (2014), the Superior Court held that a landowner who had duly recorded his oil and gas interests could recover damages for a bad-faith trespass against a driller who had drilled several gas wells on the property without ever securing a lease with the landowner. This case illustrates the practical and legal significance of recording deeds, gas leases and other conveyances with the appropriate recorder of deeds office. Such recording provides constructive notice of the landowner’s oil and gas interest. Drillers who ignore such recorded instruments will be considered bad-faith trespassers under Pennsylvania law.
The Facts of the Case
In 1997, Dennis Sabella acquired the oil and gas rights underlying 66 acres in Warren County. Sabella properly recorded a deed in the Warren County Recorder of Deeds Office. After viewing the property from a nearby road and seeing no signs of development, Sabella assumed that there were no oil and gas operations being conducted.
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