Marcellus driller settles with W. Pa. land owners

DARLINGTON, Pa. (AP) - A natural gas drilling company has settled federal lawsuits by western Pennsylvania landowners who contested the company's drilling leases and were, in turn, countersued by the company for permission to cut down trees sometimes inhabited by a protected bat species so the wells could be drilled.

Wins and Losses for Gas Company in Marcellus Shale

In the natural-gas fields of Pennsylvania, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. has had a split week in federal court — winning its motion to dismiss an amended complaint from a drilling company with which it had a contract and losing its argument that plaintiffs should show a heavy burden of proof before starting discovery in a separate case.