An Upstate New York family is taking the state to federal court, arguing that New York’s ban on natural gas extraction wiped out the value of land they legally own. The constitutional argument is simple: if the government eliminates all productive use of your private property, it owes you compensation.
They Did Their Homework Before Buying
Madison Woodward III is a geologist, so when he and his son Thomas purchased land in Delaware County in 2011, it was no casual decision. The property sat on a rich natural gas reserve, and similar tracts just across the border in Pennsylvania were already producing results. They bought with confidence that it was a sound investment.
Then the State Changed the Rules
New York then issued an executive order banning hydraulic fracturing statewide. The Woodwards lost the ability to use the mineral rights they had purchased. To understand why that matters: mineral rights are the legal ownership of the natural resources beneath a piece of land, separate from owning the land itself. Rather than walk away, the Woodwards sold the surface rights but held onto the mineral rights, betting that new technology would eventually open a path forward.
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New York Closed Every Door
That path never opened. In 2024, New York extended its ban to cover every method of extracting natural gas, leaving no workaround. The mineral rights the Woodwards had held for over a decade were rendered worthless by government order, while the same types of properties just across the border in Pennsylvania continued operating freely.
Why New York May Owe Them Money
The Woodwards are leaning on the Fifth Amendment, which says that when the government eliminates all economically viable use of private property, it has effectively taken that property and must pay fair compensation. Their argument is straightforward: New York has every right to set energy policy, but the financial cost of that policy should not fall on the shoulders of people who invested in good faith under the laws in effect at the time.
“New York can choose to leave its energy in the ground, but it cannot compel landowners to bear that burden without just compensation,” said Tyler Fry, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation.
The Broader Point: Government Policy Has a Price Tag
Represented at no cost by Pacific Legal Foundation, the Woodwards are making the case that when the government makes a sweeping policy decision, someone always pays for it. They argue that someone should not be a private landowner who plays by the rules and buys property legally.
Environmental goals and property rights, they say, need not be in conflict, but the cost of choosing one over the other cannot simply be shifted onto ordinary citizens without consequences.
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