A letter issued by the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York to member landowners and the general public on the status of the lawsuit they intend to file on behalf of landowners against New York State over its ongoing moratorium on hydraulic fracturing.

1. April 23, 2013
Dear Friends, Coalition Leaders, Landowners and Natural Gas Supporters,
Contributions for our lawsuit against New York have been coming in steadily but we
still need additional funds before we can move forward with the litigation. We heard
from some of you who held off on contributing, hoping that a final decision might
come from the Governor by April 12, 2013. Instead, all we received were more
excuses and further confirmation that our property rights have already been taken.
On February 8, 2013, the NYS Health Department Commissioner said he would be
finished with his health review in a “few weeks” - that was over 2 months ago!
On April 22, 2013, Fred Dicker of the New York Post said: “Sources said Cuomo had
also told associates that he’s decided to put off a final decision until the end of next
year because he wants to get through his 2014 re-election campaign without being
harassed by anti-hydrofracking protestors who have dogged him during several
public appearances.”
On April 14, 2013, New York Magazine reported on an interview with Governor
Cuomo. The Governor asked what if a “child falls into a well casing?” “I don’t want
the liability, frankly, and I don’t have the knowledge.” So much for decisions based
on science and facts. If the Governor had ever visited a well site, he would know that
such an accident is impossible.
On April 19, 2013, Susan Arbetter asked the Governor what his economic plans
would be if HVHF is not approved. The Governor suggested that he will rely on
yogurt to lift upstate New York from poverty. He said “Economic development no
longer works on a big bang theory, have to develop a thousand economic flowers.”
For some reason our Governor does not understand that yogurt economics will not
save New York. From former Secretary Hillary Clinton to Governor Jerry Brown to
President Obama, all of our nation’s leaders, except Governor Cuomo, recognize
that shale gas is a game changer for our country's economy.

2. The SGEIS was ready to be released Labor Day 2012 until politics took over again.
In July we will have been waiting to realize the benefits of natural gas development
for 5 years. By all indications, New York has already made its decision to deprive
New York landowners of our constitutionally protected property rights.
It’s time to stand up for our rights.
Attached you will find information about our lawsuit against New York State. This
case is not about individual gain. It is about the people of this state holding our
government accountable.
Please consider sending any donation you can afford to the "Landowner Defense
Fund". I cannot emphasize enough what is at stake for us all. Our mineral rights will
be lost if we cannot win this struggle!
Thank you for your assistance with this important endeavor.
Warm Regards,
Dan Fitzsimmons, President
Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, Inc.

3. The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York Is Accepting
Donations for a Lawsuit Against New York State
Donations are now being accepted by the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York for its lawsuit
against New York State for a constitutional taking of our property rights under the United States and
New York Constitutions.
Donations for the lawsuit can be made payable to “Landowner Defense Fund” and mailed to (please tear
off the lower half of this page and use it for mailing purposes)
JLCNY
PO Box 2839
Binghamton, NY 13902
Attention: Landowner Defense Fund
Donations can also be made by credit card by visiting the Landowner Defense Fund section of the
JLCNY’s website at www.jlcny.org
The JLCNY is a 501(c)(6) non profit corporation. Contributions or gifts to the Landowner Defense
Fund through the JLCNY are not tax deductible as charitable contributions.
----- ---------------------------------Cut here and send l to support this fund-------------------- ------------
YES! I wish to contribute __________ to the Landowner Defense Fund.
Name________________________________________________________________________
Address:______________________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip_________________________________________________________________
Phone:_______________________________________________________________________
Email: (optional) _____________________________________________________________
(my phone and email address will only be used to communicate information or updates on the progress of the lawsuit and not for any
other purposes, and will NOT be shared with any other organization.)
I am a landowners in the County(s) of, ___________________________________New York
Enclosed is my check in the amount of $____________________________________________
Make checks payable to: Landowner Defense Fund
Mail checks to: JLCNY
PO Box 2839
Binghamton, NY 13902
Attention: Landowner Defense Fund
I have made a donation on by credit card on the JLCNY website in the amount of $____________________

4. ABOUT THE LAWSUIT
Lawsuit Goals
The goals of this lawsuit are consistent with the goals of the JLCNY – to protect the constitutionally
guaranteed rights of NY landowners and push the State closer to approving the SGEIS and permitting wells
in the Marcellus and Utica shales. We believe that moving forward with natural gas development will bring
the greatest financial benefit to all New Yorkers, have an immediate impact on climate change, clean our air,
dramatically reduce health impacts from air pollution and will allow our nation to come closer to achieving
energy independence.
Funding
The action will not be commenced until the JLCNY has received sufficient funding. All of the funds donated
for this effort will be administered by the JLCNY’s bank, Chemung Canal Trust Company (“CCTC”), in a
non-interest bearing account.
The JLCNY will deduct from the Landowner Defense Fund ongoing expenses incurred for the lawsuit
including, but not limited to, fees and expenses for attorneys, experts, accountants and CCTC fund
administration (“Lawsuit Expenses”). Provided that donors have provided accurate identification and
mailing information, a proportional share of donations remaining after deduction of the Lawsuit Expenses
will be returned to the donors for any donations of $100 or more (* $103.50 or more for credit card
donations) when the case is resolved. The balance of donations of less than $100 will be donated to the
JLCNY general fund. For example, if a donation of $10,000 is made and the donor’s proportional share of
expenses is $1,000, then $9,000 will be returned to the donor. If a donation of $99 is made and the donor’s
proportional share of expenses is $50, the balance of $49 will be donated to the JLCNY general fund.
Multiple donations from a single donor will each be treated as a single donation so that a donation of $200
would be eligible for a return of a portion of the unused funds but a second donation of $99 by the same
donor would not since it is less than $100.
* Pay Pal credit card payments: Pay Pal deducts a transaction fee from each donation and will credit the
Landowner Defense Fund with the net balance. In order to be eligible for a return of funds after the case
resolution, credit card donations of $100 will need to add $3.50 for a total donation of $103.50.
If an appeal is necessary, it will be the beginning of a new fund raising stage. Funds remaining in the initial
stage will be used for the appeal stage. If the funds in the initial stage have been substantially depleted, the
JLCNY reserves the right to limit reimbursement after the case resolution to the donors making donations in
the subsequent fund raising stages. Any appeals to a higher appellate court will commence a new fund
raising stage.
It is difficult to predict how the case will proceed and how long it will take. The DEC could approve the
SGEIS and begin granting permits for HVHF prior to filing the complaint, soon after filing or after
protracted litigation and discovery. The JLCNY is committed to proceeding with the lawsuit until the State
authorizes HVHF permits or until a court gives us a ruling in our favor, whichever comes sooner.
Why Not a Class Action?
A number of people have asked whether this will be a class action or an action that will involve hundreds of
landowners. While we would like to include a large number of plaintiffs in the action, the economic reality

5. is that numerous plaintiffs would make the action too costly to prosecute. Each property will require experts
to value the mineral rights and economic loss. We expect expert witness fees to be in excess of $100,000.00
with just a few plaintiffs in the action. A large number of plaintiffs would cost millions of dollars in expert
witness and attorneys’ fees.
Circumstances Have Changed
Landowners have been asking the JLCNY to commence this lawsuit for over two years. Until now, delay by
itself was not enough to commence the claims. But, circumstances have changed. It is widely recognized that
the SGEIS and the regulations have been completed. The SGEIS was prepared to be released on or about
Labor Day 2012. The decision to further delay the release of the SGEIS was the Governor’s decision
entirely based upon politics, not science. New York started a new health review even though the Department
of Health had already completed a 2012 health review and found that there were no health impacts from the
process of hydraulic fracturing. New York’s dysfunction was further exemplified by Ohio which completed
its HVHF regulations in 8 months and Illinois which was able to draft HVHF legislation in just 14 months
with collaboration among landowner, environmental and industry groups.
Ideal Plaintiffs
• The lawsuit will primarily focus on landowners who own only the sub-surface mineral rights - and do
not own the surface. The purpose of this strategy is to bring the best claims under existing law on takings in
order to establish legal precedent. The owners of sub-surface oil and gas rights have no use for their property
other than exploration and development of oil and gas.
• We have also sought landowners who were under a lease where their company applied for a Marcellus
or Utica Shale drilling permit but the company was unable to proceed because of the State’s actions.
• We have focused our efforts on the core regions of the Marcellus and Utica shales where there is little or
no activity in other formations. The viability of the Herkimer, Oneida and Trenton Black River formations
leave us open to arguments that the property has other economic values and can be drilled by conventional
means, unlike the Marcellus and Utica shales.
• We have sought properties in the Susquehanna River Basin as opposed to those in the Delaware River
Basin. For this first action, we do not want the DRBC’s failure to promulgate rules to be a defense to our
lawsuit against the State.
The Law
The takings claims will be brought under the 5th
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article 1, § 7 of the
New York State Constitution. The claims are predominantly controlled by the law in two cases: Lucas v.
South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003 (1992) and Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New
York, 438 U.S. 104 (1978).
A “Lucas” taking is regulation that denies all economically beneficial or productive use of land. It is a per se
taking where the determination is made without regard for the government’s justification. You must show a
“complete elimination of value” or it does not qualify.
Absent a permanent deprivation of all value of the property, a “Penn Central” taking is governed by a fact-
specific balancing test considering the following: 1) the economic impact of the regulation; 2) the extent to
which the regulation has interfered with reasonable investment-backed expectations; and 3) the character of
the governmental action.
Takings claims are difficult claims to make against the government. A landowner who claims that land
regulation has effected a taking of his property bears the heavy burden of overcoming the presumption of
constitutionality that attaches to the regulation and of proving every element of the claim.

6. We are evaluating many legal theories which could be alleged against the State in order to increase our
opportunity for success. Those theories include, but not are limited to, temporary or de facto takings, equal
protection, civil rights violations and declaratory judgment relief based upon the unconstitutionality of the
State’s conduct.
We have been speaking with national experts on the relevant law and the facts of our case. We intend to
consult with these experts prior to filing our complaint, assuming sufficient funding has been received.
Our national leaders agree that we must move forward with development of our natural resources.
President Barack Obama
“In the meantime, the natural-gas boom has led to cleaner power and greater energy independence. That’s
why my administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits.” . . . . “we
produce more natural gas than ever before – and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it. And
over the last four years, our emissions of the dangerous carbon pollution that threatens our planet have
actually fallen.” President Barak Obama 2013 State of the Union Address
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg
"It is up to the governor, but I personally have said we should be fracking, not in the watershed, but we
should be fracking. … About 13,000 people get killed every year by the pollutants from coal-fired plants. …
[Also, as] Boone alluded to, getting oil from outside this country is expensive and it transfers our wealth to
people who are trying to destroy our lives. … Of all the things we can do, natural gas isn't perfect, but it
certainly looks like it can make this country energy-independent and reduce dramatically the pollutants going
into the air," NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, SNL:New York should start fracking, say T. Boone Pickens, Michael
Bloomberg, February 21, 2013, http://www.snl.com/InteractiveX/article.aspx?CDID=A-17037268-12588&KPLT=8
California Governor Jerry Brown
Even California Governor Jerry Brown, a prominent environmentalist, says the state should consider the use
of fracking technology to develop its massive shale oil reserves and reduce reliance on imported oil. . . . "We
want to get the greenhouse gas emissions down, but we also want to keep our economy going. That's that
balance that's required." http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/14/us-california-brown-fracking-
idUSBRE92D04320130314
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper
“Hi, this is Governor John Hickenlooper. In 2008, Colorado passed tough oil and gas rules. Since then we
have not had one instance of groundwater contamination associated with drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
And we plan to keep it that way. That’s why Colorado recently passed the toughest—and fairest—hydraulic
fracturing disclosure rule in the nation. In Colorado, we’ve proven that industry and the conservation
community can come together to solve problems. We can create jobs, promote energy security, and protect
our environment.”
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/02/29/434994/colorado-governor-john-hickenlooper-appears-in-fracking-
ad/?mobile=nc
We truly hope our leaders in Albany will agree that it is time to move forward with natural gas development
in New York. But, until New York moves forward, the JLCNY is committed to protecting the
constitutionally guaranteed rights of New York landowners.