Transcript in Marcellus Shale Damage Case Released

A transcript of a 2011 court case involving a Mt. Pleasant family, Range Resources, MarkWest and a third company has been released.

According to the transcript, former Washington County Judge Paul Pozonsky approved sealing the records with the settlement agreement "attached thereto" during a private hearing held to settle the claims of Chris and Stephanie Hallowich against Southpointe-based Range Resources, MarkWest and a third company, according to the Post-Gazette.

To read the full Post-Gazette story, click here.

The transcript makes mention of a gag order imposed upon the family in exchange for a settlement of $750,000.

It also calls for the couple's children to be barred from speaking about the issues of Marcellus Shale or fracking.

"I have counseled both Chris and Stephanie, as drafted, the order could be read toforever bar their two children from ever commenting on anything to do with fracking or Marcellus Shale. I have counseled them that they are minors. I, frankly, your honor, as an attorney, to be honest with you, I don't know if that's possible that you can give up the First Amendment rights of a child. I don't know. The defense has requested that be a part of the petition as worded," said the attorney representing the Hallowich family.

In regard to the gag order on the two minor children, Range's attorney said, "I guess our position is it does apply to the whole family. We would certainly enforce it."

Stephanie Hallowich said this in regard to the gag order against her children:

"We have agreed to this because we needed to get the children out of there for their health and safety. My concern is they're minors. I'm not quite sure I fully understand. We know we're signing for silence forever, but how is this taking away our children's rights being minors now? I mean, my daughter is turning 7 today, my son is 10."

To read the full transcript, click here.