Fractivist hit with $1000 fine

BY STACI WILSON

Natural gas opponent Vera Scroggins was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine Thursday, April 22, for contempt of a court order that bars her from a drilling company’s a access roads, well sites and properties. She was given 45 days to pay the fine or she could face jail time.

It was the second contempt ruling Judge Kenneth Seamans has handed down against Scroggins, of Brackney, in her ongoing battle with Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation.

Following the court hearing that lasted nearly three hours with little arguments offered away from the bench from either side, Scroggins said she did not plan to pay the fine, maintaining that despite the February court ruling, she did not violate the order.

The latest contempt charge came after the court determined Scroggins had parked her vehicle on a Cabot access road in Dimock Twp. on Jan. 16 while leading a tour group in the area.

The court had previously found that Scroggins had violated the preliminary injunction last fall when she led a tour group to the Costello well pad access road in Dimock. She was not penalized for violating the order at that time.

Scroggins’ attorney Sheila Dugan questioned the harm of her client’s actions.

“She did harm to the authority of the court. This is what a contempt finding is all about,” the judge answered.

Scroggins entered the small Susquehanna County courtroom Thursday just after arguments had started. Due to courthouse renovations, the hearing was held in the secondary courtroom with limited seating capacity. An overflow crowd waited in the courthouse hallways.

Cabot sought to have Scroggins pay $1,000 to cover a portion of the legal fees incurred in connection with the contempt motion. But Cabot attorney Amy Barrette said they would waive the request for compensatory damages if Scroggins agreed to the previously negotiated permanent injunction settlement.

Dugan asked the court for more time to negotiate the settlement.

“You’ve had years,” Judge Seamans said, “We’ve all had years to resolve this matter.” The judge ordered a 30 minute recess to allow the parties to discuss a settlement, telling the attorneys he wanted the matter resolved in that time.

But Scroggins and Cabot could not come to an agreement in that time.

Dugan argued the buffer zone, restricting Scroggins from parking on a public road within 100 feet of an Cabot access road, was too restrictive. She asked for the court to rehear arguments.

“The court is beyond this,” the judge said. “There’s been a finding.”

After the judge reiterated his repeated request for a resolution, Dugan suggested guidelines regarding blocking or interfering with traffic put in place instead.
Cabot’s attorneys said the 100-foot buffer was a more measurable rule that would lead to fewer times in court. “Guidelines don’t apply to her,” Barrette said. “This all started as an injunction based on trespassing.”

Scroggins’ attorney Gerald Kinchy said other natural gas companies had sent his client correspondence on company letterhead asking her to stay away from their sites. “She won’t listen to a guard,” Kinchy said.

“There’s going to be an injunction,” Judge Seamans said. “She better get used to it. Cabot better get used to it. You better get used to it.”

From her seat, Scroggins said to her attorneys, “There’s nothing to discuss. I do not want an injunction.”

In another pending matter, attorneys Witold Walczak, director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania and Scott Michelman, of the Washington, D.C., advocacy group Public Citizen both testified that they believed Scroggins had agreed to a negotiated settlement.

Kinchy argued that Scroggins had a “change of heart” after Cabot had been notified via email by Walczak of the agreement and refused to sign the document.

Walczak had been granted his motion Thursday to withdraw as an attorney for Scroggins.

Cabot is looking to have that settlement agreement accepted by the court.

Kinchy said the intention was that the agreement would be signed and said it should not be accepted by the court.

Cabot is seeking a permanent injunction to keep Scroggins from Cabot or its subsidiary GasSearch Drilling Services properties and leased properties where active operations are taking place.

Cabot sought the preliminary injunction in October 2013; it was modified in March 2014.