Pennsylvania Superior Court Issues Opinion In Butler v. Powers

On September 7, 2011, an intermediate appellate court of Pennsylvania (Superior Court) issued an opinion in Butler v. Powers regarding the meaning of a deed from 1881 that questioned traditional views in Pennsylvania of how ownership of shale gas is determined in that state. In Butler, this issue arises out of a dispute over the meaning of the term "minerals" in a reservation carved out of plaintiff appellees' deed to 244 acres of land in Apolacon Township, Pennsylvania. The reservation states that half of "the minerals and Petroleum Oils" underlying the land belong to Charles Powers and his heirs. Under the Dunham Rule, a deed or instrument reserving or conveying "minerals" without any reference to oil or gas creates a rebuttable presumption that the grantor did not intend for "minerals" to include oil or gas. The Superior Court reviewed the trial court's ruling that "the...reservation in the chain of title to the surface land currently owned by appellees did not