The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear the appeal of the Superior Court decision in Shedden v. Anadarko E&P, 88 A.3d 228 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2014), and its decision will have far-reaching implications for the constantly evolving relationship between landowners and producers in the state.
The legal issues before the Supreme Court include the enforceability and effect of Mother Hubbard clauses and the doctrine of estoppel by deed. This appeal has the potential not only to change more than 100 years of settled law, but to disrupt the long-standing paradigm of using Mother Hubbard clauses in oil and gas leases to address the very issues now before the Supreme Court.
