Gregory A. Mountain (518) 641-0505 gam@westfirmlaw.com

Gregory A. Mountain is the head of the Firm's Oil and Gas Land Practice.

Greg manages the Firm's title practice, land support services and compulsory integration matters. Greg, and the Firm's title attorneys, render and review drilling, acquisition and division order title opinions to not only address title defects but also highlight potential permitting obstacles. He also represents operators in support of their land operations. He has experience with development agreements, joint ventures, and joint operating agreements, and in making complex calculations of royalty, net royalty, overriding royalty and working interests for division orders. He has also worked on all phases of well development, including lease and right of way acquisition, curative activities, the exercise of force majeure, drill site and pipeline permitting activities, foreclosure and other land related matters. Greg also handles compulsory integration proceedings, including the preparation of required notifications, and the representation of operators at the integration hearing and at proceedings commenced for disputes referred to adjudication. Greg has also represented operators in several litigation matters in the defense of oil and gas leases, appearing in New York State Supreme Court and responding to requests for information from the New York State Attorney General. He has also actively participated on behalf of service providers in the environmental review process being conducted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for high volume hydraulic fracturing.

In addition to his oil and gas practice, Greg represents corporate and individual clients in an extensive array of legal matters, including general corporate matters, real estate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, land use, development and zoning matters, regulatory activities, tax certiorari proceedings and commercial litigation. He has significant experience in the renewable energy field. Greg previously acted as corporate counsel for a hydroelectric project developer, and represented a public benefit corporation, as the owner of a substantial flood control and flow augmentation reservoir that benefited several downstream hydroelectric projects. He has participated in New York State Public Service Commission proceedings, and appeared on behalf of clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on project licensing, and project license compliance and enforcement matters. He has negotiated asset purchase and sale agreements, power purchase agreements, payment in lieu of tax agreements and related financing documents. Greg has considerable experience in asset management, structuring and restructuring of material contracts and resolving complex disputes involving interrelated issues.

Greg's litigation experience includes appearances before the New York State Supreme Court in several Article 78 proceedings associated with government agency interpretation of its governing statutes, Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law Article 15 actions, and several plenary actions related to real property disputes, building code violations, and the protection of corporate trade secret and proprietary information; the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, in a successful challenge to a local municipality's condemnation proceedings; the United State Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of New York, in the successful protection of a right of first refusal in a bankruptcy auction; and the New York State Division of Tax Appeals where he obtained an Administrative Law Judge decision overturning a long standing New York State Department of Tax and Finance policy on franchise taxes.

Representative Matters

• Manages Firm's mineral estate title practice for the Appalachian Basin.
• Assists in all facets of oil and gas land department support, including the review and revision of forms for leasing, curative matters and other well development activities.
• Represents numerous oil and gas clients in New York State compulsory integration proceedings to, among other things, protect confidential seismic data, enforce payment by participating owners of well costs up front prior to drilling activities, and interpret the governing statute to address the impacts of foreclosure on existing spacing units.
• Prepared various submittals on behalf of service providers to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in response to request for information related to high volume hydraulic fracturing
• Represents interest of real estate developer and related homeowners association in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceedings for adjoining hydroelectric project.
• Assisted in the restructuring and sale of several hydroelectric projects, including the negotiation of asset purchase and sale agreements and other closing documents, and the re-negotiation of energy sales agreements, underlying ground leases, payment in lieu of tax agreements and related financing documents.
• Participated in the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC") meetings resulting in the Upper Hudson/Sacandaga River Offer of Settlement and the issuance by the DEC of its 401 Water Quality Certificates for four (4) major hydroelectric projects on the Sacandaga and Hudson Rivers.
• Part of legal team that represented a public benefit corporation in complex commercial litigation involving various Article 78 proceedings, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission complaint procedures, contract negotiations, FOIL matters and rulemakings.
• Assisted in the due diligence review of a merger of two large wireless telecommunications providers.
• Represented seller in the sale of a residential apartment complex constructed by an entity formed under the Limited-Profit Housing Company Law with financing from the NYS Urban Development Corporation.
• Represented the purchaser of a boat dealership in the acquisitions of assets and the structuring of the transaction to realize maximum tax and estate planning benefits.
• Negotiated consolidation of not-for-profit education corporations, which required the resolution of a major financial dispute over historically significant property.