Settlement with shale-gas firm includes gag order for kids; company says it doesn't apply to them

In what legal scholars and lawyers are calling a first, and some questioning whether it's legal, the non-disclosure agreement prohibiting Chris and Stephanie Hallowich from talking about the 2011 settlement of their high-profile Marcellus Shale damage case in Washington County, Pennsylvaniam includes a gag order for the couple's two children, who were 7 and 10 at the time, Don Hopey reports for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (Post-Gazette photo by Pam Panchak: The Hallowich family in 2010 near their home)

"The Hallowichs, who had been longtime critics of shale-gas drilling, claimed that Marcellus Shale gas development -- including four wells, gas compressor stations and a 3-acre water impoundment -- adjacent to their 10-acre farm in Mount Pleasant, Washington County, damaged their property value and their health," Hopey reports. "They said air and water contaminants caused them to experience burning eyes, sore throats, headaches and earaches, and contaminated their water supply." They were awarded $750,000 in the settlement with Range Resources Corporation.

In a hearing transcript obtained by the Post-Gazette, Peter Villari, lawyer for the Hallowichs, said that "in 30 years of practicing law he never had seen a nondisclosure agreement that included minor children, and although he advised the Hallowichs to accept the settlement, he questioned if the children's First Amendment rights could be restricted by such an agreement," Hopey reports. Even the judge who presided over the case isn't sure if the gag order can be upheld, saying in the transcript, "That's a law-school question, I guess."

The attorney for Range Resources, out of Fort Worth, is quoted in the transcript as saying, "I guess our position is it does apply to the whole family. We would certainly enforce it." A Range spokesperson told Hopey that the statement is "not something we agree with" and added "We don't believe the settlement applies to children." (Read more)