Potential Sources of Litigation Surrounding Hydraulic Fracturing Throughout Haynesville Shale

The Haynesville Shale is an informal name for a rock formation that underlies large parts of southwest Arkansas, northwest Louisiana, and east Texas. It is part of a large rock formation known as the Haynesville Formation. The Haynesville Shale underlies an area of about 9,000 square miles and averages about 200 to 300 feet thick. It contains vast quantities of recoverable natural gas, often referred to as "shale gas." Haynesville Shale is an important shale gas resource in East Texas and Louisiana. It has recently been estimated to be the largest natural gas field in the contiguous 48 states with an estimated 250 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas. It came into prominence in 2008 as a potential major shale gas resource. Though it was known to contain large quantities of natural gas prior to 2008, it was uneconomic to extract the natural gas at that time. However, as a result of rising gas prices and improved technology, i.e., hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, it has become possible to extract gas from the Haynesville Shale in a cost-effective manner.

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as "fracing" or "fracking," is the now widely publicized process whereby natural gas and oil producers are able to recover natural gas and oil from deep shale formations. It typically involves millions of gallons of fluid that are pumped into an oil or gas well at high pressure to create fractures in the rock formation that allow oil or gas to flow from the fractures to the wellbore. Fracturing fluid is roughly 99% water but also contains numerous chemical additives as well as "propping" agents, such as sands, that are used to keep fractures open once they are produced under pressure. The chemicals added to fracturing fluid include substances referred to as friction reducers, surfactants, gelling agents, scale inhibitors, acids, corrosion inhibitors, antibacterial agents, and clay stabilizers. Depending on the site, 15-80% of the fracturing fluid injected is recovered as "flowback" water at the well head. In addition, a considerable amount of water that comes to the surface, often called "produced" water, over the lifetime of the well is highly saline water that originates deep underground in the shale formation.

Although significant risks are commonly associated with hydraulic fracturing, the process has substantially increased the extraction of natural gas from unconventional sources. The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) estimates that hydraulic fracturing is used to stimulate production in 90% of domestic oil and gas wells, though shale and other unconventional gas recovery utilizes hydraulic fracturing to a much greater extent than conventional gas development does. Furthermore, horizontal wells, which may extend two miles from the well pad, are estimated to be 2-3 times more productive than conventional vertical wells, and see an even greater increase in production from hydraulic fracturing. The alternative to hydraulic fracturing is to drill more vertical wells in an area, a solution that is often economically or geographically prohibitive. Nevertheless, despite its efficiency, the sudden increase in the utilization of hydraulic fracturing is beginning to face intense scrutiny from state and federal lawmakers, environmental agencies, and public interest groups. This scrutiny has led to multiple sources of litigation throughout areas near the Haynesville and Marcellus shale formations.

The most widely publicized potential litigation associated with hydraulic fracturing is that of contamination to local drinking water sources. Approximately 44 million Americans rely on private water supplies for household and agricultural use, typically sourced from shallow aquifers. In areas of extensive shale gas drilling, some homeowners have claimed that hydraulic fracturing has contaminated their drinking-water wells with methane and waste waters. Shale gas is typically comprised of over 90% methane. The migration of methane gas to nearby private drinking water wells is a concern with hydraulic fracturing and natural gas in general. In Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, for example, a group of residents recently brought an action against a Texas company conducting hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling near their property along the Marcellus Shale. According to their complaint, pollutants and other industrial waste, including fracturing fluid and other hazardous chemicals, were negligently discharged into the ground as a result of insufficient casings on one or more of the wells, resulting in contamination of the local water supply. Though the court has yet to issue a ruling directly on liability, the case demonstrates water contamination as a clear potential source of litigation.

The risks of water contamination have also led to a clash between oil and natural gas companies and state and federal regulators regarding public disclosure of the chemicals and additives found in fracturing fluid. This has catalyzed a second related potential source of litigation concerning the applicability of trade secret protection. On June 23, 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced seven case studies to help inform the assessment of potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. Two of the case study sites are in Louisiana and Texas. In the Haynesville Shale area, the EPA plans to monitor the hydraulic fracturing process before construction and throughout the process of drilling in order to assess existing sites for possible drinking water contamination and attempt to determine possible pathways for contamination to reach water resources. It should be noted that before this study, drinking water aquifers in cases like the one mentioned above, from Susquehanna, Pennsylvania, were not tested for contamination prior to hydraulic fracturing taking place near the aquifer.

This study coincides with regulations recently passed in Texas and Louisiana under which companies performing hydraulic fracturing must report to state agencies and/or publicly accessible registries the composition and volumes of fracturing fluid. Louisiana regulations, officially adopted on October 20, 2011, require companies to report a list of chemical ingredients contained in hydraulic fracturing fluid, unless the specific identity of a chemical ingredient is determined to be entitled to protection as a trade secret under Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. This regulatory scheme only requires disclosure of fracturing fluid composition after its initial use. This could become a source of litigation expense for oil and natural gas companies operating in the Haynesville Shale region. As it currently reads, the recently promulgated regulations invite litigation over the classification of fracturing fluid components as chemical ingredients entitled to trade secret protection under Title 29 Section 1910.1200(i) of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Lastly, a third and arguably the most pervasive source of litigation associated with the sudden increase in the utilization of hydraulic fracturing throughout the Haynesville Shale concerns the sustainability of aquifers in the region. As noted above, the fracturing process involves pumping millions of gallons of water into a well. Despite drawing unprecedented amounts of natural gas to the surface, withdrawing millions of gallons of groundwater out of aquifers for each of several hundred, and eventually several thousand, natural gas wells located in a handful of parishes in northwestern Louisiana has allegedly put a worrisome strain on the aquifers in the region. Many of the groundwater aquifers in the Haynesville Shale area, especially those surrounding Shreveport, the largest city in the region and the hub of oil and gas activity, have been facing uncertain or decreasing water levels for years. From the moment the first few wells were drilled, various parties in Louisiana began to anticipate the inevitable clash between the enormous water use requirements of fracturing operations and the communities relying on the already fragile aquifers. Unlike the first two potential sources of litigation, however, the sustainability of aquifers in the regions surrounding hydraulic fracturing is an issue without significant legal precedent. Thus, the costs of potential litigation become difficult to ascertain.

It is important to note that the above mentioned potential sources of litigation are by no means exhaustive. They simply represent some of the key issues surrounding hydraulic fracturing that have risen to the forefront of the debate surrounding the potential costs and benefits of an increasingly publicized and ever-growing source of energy production throughout the United States. When you consider the potential of such enormous yields of oil and natural gas from the Haynesville Shale, these issues become glaringly prevalent. As such, they provide a window into the future for not only oil and natural gas companies within the region, but their defense counsel as well.

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How Does HIPAA Impact Discovery?

With the rise of modern technology, the ways in which we process and retrieve information has changed dramatically. The medical field has been one of the most affected, and with the ability to rapidly share information, the need to protect this information has grown exponentially. The United States was able to keep up with the needs of its citizens by passing the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This act essentially changed medical record retrieval for medical professionals, legal professionals, and the law.

HIPAA protects every American from having their information shared or discovered by a variety of individuals. Even the deceased are protected under these high tech HIPAA laws. This is a federal regulation, and every state must comply with the HIPAA guidelines for medical record retrieval, and only have the option of having more protection for their citizens. HIPAA also protects the transfer and sharing of all medical documents regardless if they are transferred via high tech methods or more organic means.

One of the most important areas of medical record retrieval that these HIPAA laws protect is the discovery of these documents by third party sources. Sometimes, in order to proceed in a court case or hearing, medical records are needed to prove truth or to be used as evidence. HIPAA high tech retrieval as well as old-fashioned methods, in terms of discovery, is covered by the same regulations and guidelines, and the fines for violating these rules are severe and can exceed over a million dollars.

Legal professionals who need to access medical records for court proceedings have to use special rules and procedures to obtain these records. In order to get these HIPAA records via high tech or other means, generally a lawyer or judge must fill out a HIPAA authorization form. This form ensures that anyone attempting medical record retrieval has the proper information, intention, as well as permission to access the medical records. This documentation also requires legal need, such as a subpoena to ensure the safety of the person's records that are being retrieved. Though the discovery of medical documentation is affected by HIPAA enforcement, whether said discovery occurs via high tech means or not, it helps keep patients safe from harm and also helps maintain privacy.

HIPAA is something that may have made life a little more difficult, especially for those in legal professions, but it has also made life much safer. With the rise of the modern age, privacy is a concept that many do not understand anymore. However, with the development of HIPAA, medical records retrieval has become private and safe again so that citizens of the United States can rest at ease knowing their information is safe. Making sure that the discovery of these records is regulated as well simply adds to the safety and security that HIPAA provides for patients, and knowing how to retrieve this information should you need to is also important for avoiding fines and making sure that information is secure and protected.

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Court Reporting: The Importance of Accuracy

Legal situations can be some of the most unpleasant and unwanted experiences in our lives. Making sure that these experiences are stress-free for everyone involved is crucial for the success of any case. Ensuring the best services surround you and your legal team is important, especially in the case of court reporting. Court reporting supplies your case with a record of not only what has happened in the courtroom, but also within the individual meetings and other events during the time of your case. It is important to have this record as accurate as possible.

Reporting accuracy can make or break a case. Many types of meetings and events will happen prior to an actual trial depending on what type of case you have. Lawyers who use these reporters for their clients want to make sure they get the record straight. These records are often used in a later case for evidence and to review and learn from, to win a future case you will fight. Having an inaccurate record can make your case false and completely ruin your chance at winning anything that you are fighting for, and it could destroy your credibility as a law professional. Having accurate reporting for your firm or case will ensure that you never run into a situation where you will need to defend the credibility of your record.

Accurate court reporting is also much easier to obtain and guarantee than you might think. Many companies provide court reporting services for various types of cases and the different needs of law firms. These companies train and screen their employees that they will provide for your business to make sure that they are fit to serve your firm and your case with integrity. Outsourcing these services saves time on having to hire and train someone on your own because these companies do all of the hard work for you. On top of saving you time, these companies guarantee their services are as accurate as possible so you do not have to worry about anything but the running of your case.

Accuracy in court reporting can help keep you working at your best. Being able to do what you need to do and focus your attention on areas of the case that need your legal expertise will be easier for you because you will not have to worry about your accuracy. Being able to revisit accurate documents will help you to be able to build the best possible case that you can so that you will be successful in whatever legal undertaking that you are trying to accomplish.

Court reporting services and reporting in general are a crucial need to every case, regardless if it is a criminal defense case or just a simple lawsuit or property closing. Making sure that these records are transcribed in an accurate fashion can be what wins your case, and what makes winning your case easier for you and your entire legal team. Hiring outside services ensures you will benefit from accurate court reporting brought to your business.

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Video Forensics: Standard Operating Procedures

There is a set of procedures all forensic experts follow in order to show that their investigation and forensic work is acceptable in the scientific community. Without these standard operating procedures, our courts and legal systems will get bogged down by bogus forensic experts who provide bogus information in litigation.

Following the practices and procedures of forensic investigation as accepted in the scientific community requires the forensic examiner to be trained on many levels of forensic investigation. For example, software programs that aid in the forensic examination are complicated. Training programs both written and on video help forensic examiners learn how to use and apply these software tools when conducting forensic examinations.

In the following article, I will describe the processes I often use as an audio video forensic expert as well as the tools that aid in my investigations. I wrote this article about digital and analogue video clarification to help the lay person better understand the audio/video forensic examination and investigation process.

Many video recordings are submitted to me for forensics examination. More often than not, the quality of these recordings is below optimal. Operator error or inferior equipment often contributes to poor quality video.

Essentially, video clarification is the process used to address these less-than-ideal video conditions-to produce a sharpened, enhanced video product.

Our Mac and PC based forensic video processes allow us to break a video down into its original components and enhance picture quality and sound.

The components are adjusted and then realigned, resulting in a clearer, crisper image. Once the video has been loaded into our computer, we can then adjust gamma color tints and intensity, ratio of black to white to grey tones, chroma, and other video attributes, plus sound-quality attributes.

Note that no video clarification steps used by a video forensic expert will cause damage to the original recordings. Maintaining the integrity of an original videotape is, of course, of paramount importance.

I want to stress the importance of using original video recordings in all litigation because originals have the better quality than copies and because originals that have an established chain of custody are mandatory for court use instead of copies. Although the copy is showing the same image, the information contained on the video recording will never be as valuable as the original. Original videos outside the court room are referred to as "Full Quality Files".

If you have any questions about original video vs. copies in a court proceeding, call us for a pro bono phone conversation. If you believe that your audio or video evidence is not authentic, then you should consider contacting a forensic expert who can help guide you in obtaining an original copy of the evidence that is being used in your court proceeding. Ask the forensic expert for a copy of their curriculum vita so you can see their experience and even contact some of their references.

In all instances-litigation and other publishing uses-working with the original recording always produces superior results. The master recording has integrity in litigation and is much higher quality than a copy. If a video clarification process is necessary, mine is second to none.

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Lazy Judgment Enforcers

I am not a lawyer, I am a Judgment and Collections Broker. This article is my opinion. If you ever need legal advice or a strategy to use, please contact a lawyer.

Every day, we get at least one phone call from someone that owns a judgment, that is "sick and tired of lazy judgment enforcers".

For example, today someone called, and said they have had their million dollar judgment with three different judgment enforcers and one contingency collection lawyer, and none of them made any progress "because they are all lazy".

When we asked about their judgment debtor, the reason for their repeated experience became clear. Their debtor was a world-class scammer, that had deeply hidden their assets, and "all you have to do is find out where they hid it". That is the problem.

When the economy was booming, it was fairly easy to find contingency experts or buyers who would work on pure contingency, fronting massive amounts of time and money chasing frauds that had hidden their assets.

In a down economy, most enforcers, contingency lawyers, and contingency collection agencies, have become very picky about which judgments they will work on a pure contingency basis.

Put yourself in the enforcer's shoes: You are offering them a million dollar judgment against a 72-year old man with deeply hidden assets.

Two other enforcers tried before to recover it, however they "did nothing". They both told you they did not want to spend any more money trying to recover your judgment.

Now, your offer (that no enforcer is willing to take) is: "You can recover my judgment - if you will agree to pure contingency, constantly update me with your progress reports, and should you not make real progress, return it to me within two years."

What is wrong with your offer? Your judgment is very difficult - and you are asking for the enforcer to spend a large amount of their own time and money upfront, and agree to your special conditions and time limits.

Ignoring for now, that time limits might be considered bailment in some places, and that most enforcers will not allow you to micro-manage them; the real show stopper is the judgment debtor's assets are "deeply hidden".

Most often, when you think a judgment enforcer is lazy, it means there is not an obvious or reasonable way to recover any debtor assets to satisfy the judgment.

When times were good, there was an assumption of upward mobility that made judgment buyers willing to take more risks. The economy has affected judgment enforcers as much as most other businesses. Most judgment enforcers are now becoming very conservative.

Also during good times, sneaky judgment debtors would sometimes carelessly spend money on things that left records. Now, even rich and sneaky debtors, are laying low because they know hungry creditors are after their assets.

The economy has caused most judgment buyers to go out of business, and the few that are left, will buy judgments for more than three cents on the dollar when the debtor has deeply hidden their assets.

If your debtor has deeply hidden their assets, and nobody will buy, or wants to try to enforce your judgment on a contingency basis, you might want to first, hire a private investigator to find some of those hidden assets.

How to Fight a Credit Card Lawsuit: Request to Admit Facts Collection Lawsuit   Should You Give Up Ownership Of Your Judgment?   Responding to a Collection Agency's Interrogatories Correctly   Receiving a Summons: How to Answer a Summons for Debt Properly   Which Judgments Should You Take?   

What Are Court Reporting Agencies?

When it comes to legal matters and cases, many different people and steps go into creating a successful experience. Lawyers and legal teams ensure your case is handled professionally, but other individuals who are involved in the process are just as crucial to its success. These professionals provide legal services such as court reporting. Court reporting is one of the most important assets to any case, but finding individuals to take care of this task is not always easy. There are now agencies that specialize in providing services such as reporting to legal professionals, and because these individuals are outsourced, they have the potential to bring endless benefit to your business.

One of the most important benefits that these professionals bring to your company is accuracy. In all legal services, having accurate and correct information is critical. These court reporting agencies hire employees who are screened and checked for their reliability and then trained so that they can provide you and your team with accurate and precise reporting. Having the ability to save time and energy on hiring and training an additional employee you will allow you to focus on the things that matter in order for you and your firm to have a successful case. These companies make sure that your hired reporters are the best in the industry and that they will help to make your case a winning one.

Outsourcing your legal services can also assist you in making sure that you have the information that you need in order to build your best possible case. Having one of these hired professionals around and available during the duration of your case will help you keep an accurate and precise record of exactly what has occurred in each and every meeting that you have had in relation to your case. Being able to look back and know exactly what was said and what happened would allow you to use the maximum amount of resources available to build the winning case that you are after.

Court reporting agencies can also provide you with speed. Being accurate and available is important when it comes to creating a record for your case, but being able to have access to these items quickly is equally important. Timing is everything, especially in legal situations, and having to wait on the court documents that you need may slow down your work and hinder your case. These hired reporters will help you get everything in a timely fashion so that you can focus on winning your case.

Court reporting agencies can provide you and your firm with personnel that will make your entire case experience a more pleasant and hopefully more successful one. These companies provide you with services like reporting and transcription with accuracy, availability, and speed so that your case, whether it is a murder trial or a property closing will be handled at the highest standard to ensure the maximum amount of success.

How to Fight a Credit Card Lawsuit: Request to Admit Facts Collection Lawsuit   Should You Give Up Ownership Of Your Judgment?   Responding to a Collection Agency's Interrogatories Correctly   Which Judgments Should You Take?