Brownstein’s Mark Mathews And Wayne
Forman Win Challenge In Colorado
Supreme Court
May 02, 2016
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck shareholders Mark Mathews and Wayne Forman represented the Colorado
Oil and Gas Association (COGA) in its high-profile win yesterday in the Colorado Supreme Court.
Mathews and Forman, part of Brownstein’s Energy & Natural Resources practice based in Denver,
represented COGA in litigation against Fort Collins and Longmont, Colo., regarding bans and moratoria on
hydraulic fracturing activities. The Colorado Supreme Court struck down Longmont’s ban and Fort Collins' five­
year moratorium banning hydraulic fracturing. The court held that the ban and moratorium were illegal because
they conflicted with state law and regulations governing hydraulic fracturing. In both cases, today’s ruling
upheld lower court rulings that asserted the Longmont ban and the Fort Collins moratorium conflicted with state
law.
"This case involved precedent-setting issues pertaining to state preemption of oil and gas activities,"
said David Bernhardt, co­chair of the firm’s Natural Resources Department. “Mark's and Wayne’s knowledge
of energy and land use law were on exceptional display in front of the Supreme Court, showing the depth and
breadth of our team.”
Meet The Team

David Longly Bernhardt

Shareholder

T 202.296.7353

dbernhardt@bhfs.com

Wayne F. Forman

Shareholder

T 303.223.1120

wforman@bhfs.com

Mark J. Mathews

Shareholder

T 303.223.1179

mmathews@bhfs.com

Related Practices
Energy
Energy & Natural Resources

© 2017 Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP. All rights Reserved.