New York’s Highest Court Asked to Review Cases Upholding Local Bans on Gas Drilling
Lawyers for parties challenging local gas drilling bans enacted in two upstate towns filed briefs on May 31, 2013 asking the New York Court of Appeals to review recent intermediate appellate court decisions. Permission to review the decisions is required from the Court of Appeals since the intermediate court unanimously upheld the right of municipalities to ban drilling via local laws and zoning ordinances. In 2012, the Court of Appeals granted 6.4 percent of requests for permission to appeal, and 7.4 percent of such requests in 2011.