New York Attorney General Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuits

The New York Attorney General’s office has filed motions to dismiss two lawsuits that seek to force Governor Cuomo to end a delay in deciding the future of shale drilling within the State.  The two lawsuits, filed separately by a group of landowners and the bankruptcy trustee for Norse Energy, argue that that the State’s delay in issuing an environmental review of hydraulic fracturing is illegal and amounts to an unconstitutional “taking” of the plaintiffs’ property without just compensation.  The State asserts in the motions for dismissal that the landowner group and the bankruptcy trustee lack standing to bring the suits.