Kentucky Oil and Gas Update

No major developments occurred in Kentucky case law in the relevant time period of this update. Although areas of law other than oil and gas were the foundation for the ultimate decisions, three Kentucky appellate court opinions that loosely affect the oil and gas industry are discussed hereinbelow: Kentucky Natural Gas Corp. v. City of Leitchfield ex rel. Its Utilities Commission, Yost Energy, LLC v. Gaines,\u27 and Milam v. Viking Energy Holdings.4 Notably, the first two opinions are not to be published. According to the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure, opinions that are not to be published shall not be cited or used as binding precedent in any other case in any court of this state. \u27 However, if there is no published opinion that would adequately address an issue before the Kentucky court of appeals, an unpublished decision rendered after January 1, 2003, may be cited for consideration. Similarly, the third opinion states: this opinion is not final and shall not be cited as authority in any courts of the Commonwealth of Kentucky