Claim

What is a Claim?

A claim is a legal action concerning physical or mental harm suffered by the plaintiff due to the defendant’s negligence. In the case of insurance claims, it is a request made by the insured to the insurance company for coverage and compensation for damage or injury. A claim is sometimes also referred to as a Cause of Action.

What is a Claim?

Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute defines a claim as, “a set of operative facts creating a right enforceable in court.” Making a claim is how the process of a plaintiff filing a lawsuit and eventually receiving damages from a defendant begins. A claim must be present in order for a lawsuit to go forward. If one is not present in a specific instance, then that lawsuit will be dismissed. Examples of types of claims include claims to insurance companies, personal injury claims in cases of negligence, claims on breaches of contract, property claims, and employment claims such as unpaid wages, wrongful termination, or discrimination. A defendant may make a counterclaim against the claim of a plaintiff.

Claims can sometimes be dismissed even if there is an intent to file a lawsuit. Rulings in cases such as Ashcroft v. IQBAL and Bell Atlantic v. Twombly have determined that claims need to contain important information. They must be plausible on their own and establish a likelihood of liability. This is how claims can lead to fair compensation, resolution of disputes, and protection of rights.

More information about Claim

Some Pennsylvania Parks Could Become Marcellus Shale Drilling Sites

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) manages and maintains close to 120 state parks. However, Pennsylvania does not own the mineral rights to 80 percent of the land underlying the parks, opening it up to the possibility of the private owners entering into Marcellus Shale lease agreements with gas companies.

Oil and gas companies have already drilled a limited number of wells in some of the state park land in western Pennsylvania. DCNR cannot impose surface-use agreements on the drilling companies to govern their impact on the surface of the parks, due to a 2009 ruling by the Supreme Court, and some fear the increased interest in Marcellus Shale in the parks could result in damage to the landscape.

DCNR Secretary John Quigley says that while the threat to the parks is not immediate, “there are a dozen or fewer parks where drillers or seismic testing firms have expressed interest in accessing the surface to get to the Marcellus Shale.” […]

Emergency Services Secured for Marcellus Shale Region

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has secured the services of CUDD Well Control to provide emergency response services in Pennsylvania in case an emergency arises from any of the Marcellus Shale wells. DEP has taken this step in response to recent high-profile accidents at natural gas wells in Pennsylvania.

The company will establish a new facility in Canton Township, Bradford County, allowing Cudd’s highly specialized, well-equipped emergency response crew to respond to any natural gas well in Pennsylvania within five hours.

The state will only employ CUDD’s services when needed through emergency contracts on a case-by-case basis. This process will limit costs to taxpayers to events when CUDD personnel are mobilized.

Our attorneys at Munley, Munley & Cartwright are experienced in worksite accident lawsuits and will evaluate your case and explore all possible sources of recovery. We fight to protect the rights of workers. […]

Pooling May be Forced on Marcellus Shale Area Residents

The Marcellus Shale natural gas industry is lobbying for legislation that would force property owners in the Marcellus Shale region to allow drilling for natural gas on their land if other property owners approve the request but they refuse. Referred to as “forced pooling,” the pooling order would set forth the terms and conditions of the forced lease, such as compensation for the reluctant property owner.

The purpose of pooling is to group adjoining mineral rights leases to form a larger drilling unit, and according to the industry, results in more economical drilling. Property owners with mineral rights would lease his or her interest in exchange for a royalty share. In Pennsylvania, the industry wants to add the statute to the severance tax to be adopted by the state.

If you are a property owner and you are opposed to drilling on your property, […]

Uneasiness Persists About Marcellus Shale Operations

Some Pennsylvania property owners don’t like the idea of living next to a drilling rig and want their local governments to use zoning regulations to prevent the development of natural gas wells.

But local government leaders’ hands are tied to a great extent by a state law called the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act. The state law preempts local regulation of gas wells and extraction and gives the regulatory authority to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Local regulations may not apply to the location of a well, well site safety or even protection of the water supply.

The pressing questions of which local municipal regulations still apply and which are preempted are still being sorted out by the courts.

Natural gas drilling and extraction from the Marcellus Shale poses rewards and hazards for Pennsylvania communities. While there is the potential for significant economic benefit, […]

Leaks, spills, contamination are common at drilling sites

Contamination from drilling fluid and industrial wastewater spills are all too common among drilling operators seeking natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation.

There have been hundreds of incidents of spills at natural gas drilling sites in Pennsylvania during the last five years by more than 90 different drilling companies. According to The Scranton Times-Tribune, many of the largest drill operators in the Marcellus Shale have received notices of violation for spills that reached waterways, for leaking containment pits that contaminated drinking water and for other problems.

So far this year, inspectors have found 421 violations at Marcellus Shale wells. At least 50 of the violations involved a spill to soil or water that state officials attribute to poor management and a lack of proper oversight.

The blowout of a well drilled by EOG Resources in early June has focused Pennsylvania regulators’ attention on the need for new drilling safety regulations for Marcellus Shale gas drilling in order to prevent accidents and injuries. […]