Obtained a defense verdict in a premises liability action that was brought directly against an international energy company conducting significant work in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania. The plaintiff alleged that, while she was a passenger on a snowmobile, the snowmobile hit a drainage ditch recently dug to accommodate a new access road for the energy company to access a well pad and that she was ejected, sustaining multiple fractures in her back. The ditch was 4.5 feet deep and 5 feet wide, and, according to the plaintiff's theory, it should have been clearly marked to alert snowmobilers, who had used that area for decades. The ditch was partially located in the public right of way alongside a township road. Key to our defense strategy was the aggressive cross-examination of the plaintiff's expert, as well as coordinated communication with the co-defendant contractor who excavated the culvert. The trial was an opportunity to learn how a local jury would treat a defendant heavily engaged in the Marcellus Shale exploration industry in their community.