Craig E. Sweeney

Craig is based out of the Taft Dayton office and a partner in the Energy and Corporate/Real Estate practice groups. With nearly a decade of experience advising diverse clients on a variety of matters, Craig focuses his practice on all areas of energy law, including oil and gas and pipeline litigation, real estate litigation, real estate/midstream/upstream transactional matters, and title curative litigation. In addition, he has comprehensive experience in real estate, contracts, estate planning, and probate matters. Craig’s versatility and creative approach to finding solutions for clients on both a national and international scale make him a unique asset to the Taft team.

Prior to joining Taft, Craig served as co-chair of the Southeast Ohio Initiative and chair of the Plastics/Chemical Strategy Team at a leading Midwestern law firm. Also, his past litigation experience from 2011 to 2014 greatly contributed to establishing oil and gas case law in the State of Ohio during an unprecedented natural gas shale boom in the region.

For his exemplary work in energy and natural resources law, Craig was awarded the Ohio Super Lawyers Rising Star award in 2019.

Craig received his undergraduate degree from DePauw University and his J.D. from Ohio Northern University, Pettit College of Law.

• Michael Gardner v. The Oxford Oil Company, 2013-Ohio-5885 (7^th Dist. 2013)
• Donald W. Pollock, et al. v. W.C. Mooney, et al., 2014-Ohio-4435 (7^th Dist. 2014)
• Iris G. Covert v. W.T. Koontz, et al., 2015-Ohio-228 (7^th Dist. 2015)
• Marvin Potts, et al. v. Unglaciated Industries, Inc., et al., 2016-Ohio-8559 (2016)
• Leland Eisenbarth, et al. v. Dean Reusser, et al., 150 Ohio St.3d 342, 2016-Ohio-5819 (2016)
• Teresa Jacobs, et al. v. Dye Oil, LLC, et al., 2019-Ohio-4085 (2019), appeal not accepted 157 Ohio St.3d 1539 (2020)

• Speaker, “Dormant Mineral Act & Marketable Title Act: Curing Mineral Title Defects in Ohio”, Titles to Real Estate, Ohio State Bar Association, June 2019
• Presenter, “The Ohio Marketable Title Act: Landowner’s last hope or outdated law?” Columbus Bar Association Oil & Gas Update, September 2017
• Presenter, “The 1989 Dormant Minerals Act: Corban and Its Progeny,” Columbus Bar Association Oil & Gas Update, February 2017
• Presenter and co-author, “Ohio’s Marketable Title Act and Dormant Minerals Act: Siblings or Distance Cousins?” EMLF Special Institute on Ohio Dormant Mineral Act, December 2016
• Presenter, “The Ohio Marketable Title Act: Operations and Exceptions,” OSBA Oil & Gas Law Update, November 2016
• Presenter, “The 1989 Ohio Dormant Mineral Act: Corban and its Progeny,” OSBA Oil & Gas Law Update, November 2016