Gregory J. Krock Partner

Experience

Energy Experience

• Obtained allowance of appeal and then prevailed in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the highly-publicized Butler case involving whether a reference to “minerals” in deed includes Marcellus Shale gas.
• Obtained the dismissal of a class action lawsuit against a natural gas pipeline operator arising of its operation of its energy choice program. The dismissal was affirmed by an Ohio appellate court.
• Secured a defense verdict on behalf of the operator of a natural gas gathering system in a trial involving the purported failure to remit additional consideration under a series of right-of-way agreements. The disputed involved purported damages of almost $10 million.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of the operator under a joint operating agreement in a lawsuit filed by the non-operator seeking to recover $8 million in damages for the refusal to complete an allegedly profitable well. The trial court awarded the operator more than $1 million in counsel fees.
• Defended a natural gas producer in a class action involving the purported failure to pay statutory interest under the state’s royalty payment act.
• Defended a Wyoming natural gas producer against claims that it improperly deducted certain costs from payments to royalty and overriding royalty owners.
• Obtained a defense verdict in an arbitration in which the plaintiff sought to recover approximately $8 million in damages arising from an oil and gas company’s alleged bad faith unitization.
• Defended one of the largest national gas producers in the United States in a lawsuit involving the alleged underpayment of royalties.
• Represented an oil producer in an arbitration involving the calculation of working interest payments associated with wells in North Dakota.
• Defended a natural gas producer in an alleged price manipulation and fiduciary duty lawsuit in West Virginia.
• Represented an oilfield service company in multiple lawsuits involving the construction of the Mariner East Pipeline in Pennsylvania.
• Obtained summary judgement on behalf of drilling service companies in a toxic tort action involving the alleged release of hydraulic fracturing chemicals.
• Obtained a defense verdict on behalf of an international commodities trading company in a three-day trial involving a multi-million dollar dispute. The trial involved issues of first impression regarding the cancellation of book transfers in the petroleum industry.
• Obtained a $220 million verdict in a five-week jury trial involving a breach of contract and fraudulent misrepresentation associated with the coal, coke, and steel industry. The verdict, which included $100 million in punitive damages, was reported by the National Law Journal’s VerdictSearch to be the seventh-largest jury verdict in 2007.
• Obtained a defense verdict in a landowner’s lawsuit to cancel and oil and gas lease for failure to timely remit delay rentals.
• Defended an electric utility in several multi-million dollar lawsuits arising out of contact with overhead power lines.
• Obtained the dismissal of an action against an oil and gas engineering company involving trade secrets and unfair competition.

Commercial Litigation Experience

• Represented an international manufacturer of conveyor-belt products to enforce its restrictive covenant with a former employer and protect its trade secrets.
• Defended a public transit agency in a First Amendment dispute in which employees argued that the agency’s uniform policy violated their free speech rights.
• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of an automobile dealership in a multi-million dollar breach of contract lawsuit arising out of the termination of an asset purchase agreement. Judgment was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
• Filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in support of a public transit agency’s right to reject proposed advertisements on their vehicles.
• Represented a security alarm financing company in a multi-million dollar fraud action to prevent a debtor from avoiding its obligations.
• Obtained a non-jury verdict on behalf of a national roofing company to recover money converted by its joint venture partner.
• Defended an international accounting firm in a professional negligence action brought by the producer of coke for use in the steelmaking process.  The two-week jury trial involved novel issues surrounding the monetization of tax credits available for unconventional fuels.
• Defended a transit company in First Amendment actions arising out of its advertising policy.