The Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit confirmed that the Pennsylvania Landlord and Tenant Act is inapplicable to an agreement by a landowner authorizing the "lessee" to extract oil and gas lying beneath the property's surface. Furthermore, the Court of Appeals affirmed the Bankruptcy Court's refusal to allow the chapter 13 "lessor" to reject the lease. In re Mustafa Tayfur v. Swepi LP, Central Appalachian Petroleum, et al., No. 14-3478 (3d Cir. March 18, 2015).
Tayfur, the landowner of property in Butler County, Pennsylvania, executed a lease agreement permitting Central Appalachian Petroleum to extract oil and gas lying beneath his property's surface ("Lease"). The Lease was dated in 2005 and was to run for at least 10 years.
In 2011, the lessor filed a chapter 13 petition and sought to reject the Lease. While the lessee made all payments as due under the Lease, drilling had not commenced. The lessor/debtor...
