Kevin L. Barley

Representative Experience

• Co-lead counsel representing an oil and gas company permittee in a series of hearings before a township’s zoning hearing board to successfully defend constitutional challenge to township’s drilling ordinance and drill permit; hearings involved examination of technical experts on land use, construction, environmental, and health and safety matters and acoustical engineering analysis; continued representation of permittee and successor in interest in subsequent appeals to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and successful remand to the Commonwealth Court
• Co-lead counsel representing prime construction contractor joint venture on a federal nuclear construction project on variety of business, procurement, investigation, and construction matters, including domestic and international fabrication subcontractors’ claims involving defective design specifications, delay damages, attorneys’ fees, and punitive damages
• Lead counsel representing an oil and gas company in hearings before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) to successfully defend landmark constitutional challenge to PADEP drilling permits
• Represented midstream client in administrative hearings before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission
• Represented utility solar project owners in coordination with their EPC contractors and other vendors to appear at public meetings, obtain municipal and county land use approvals, facilitate obtaining other required permits and approvals, and resolve project objector and adjacent landowner disputes
• Represented entrepreneurs in purchase agreement litigation to compel specific performance involving purchase of oil and gas operations and interests
• Represent industrial company in minority shareholder litigation
• Represent coal company in various disputes involving water loss and water quality claims, subsidence claims, alleged permit violations, and related administrative negotiations and appeals
• Counseled numerous clients regarding environmental risk and indemnity matters arising from facility divestitures
• Defended industrial facility owner and operator against CERCLA, New Jersey Spill Act, and ancillary claims involving PCBs, metals and other constituents impacting soil, groundwater, and/or adjacent waterway sediment
• Obtained summary judgment for defendant design engineer in claims by contractor against municipal authority and design professional relating to design and construction of combined sewer separation project in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania
• Obtained an emergency injunction in Butler County to preserve oil and gas company’s use of temporary water line for active frac operation despite landowner’s trespass claims and threat of self-help remedy, resulting in favorable settlement
• Litigated defective design and construction claims against cell tower manufacturer
• Successfully tried to verdict as second chair a claim against PennDOT before the Pennsylvania Board of Claims pertaining to bridge construction project, changed conditions, and extra work
• Counseled oil and gas companies regarding mineral ownership uncertainties, including PA DCNR’s claim to own minerals underlying most streams and ownership of minerals underlying various types of Ohio roadways