Judge’s Recommendation to Allow Series of Class Action Lawsuits, Could Help Thousands of Landowners “Cheated” Out of Millions in Royalties. In June 2013, the Bristol Herald Courier reported, “A jury might one day get to decide whether energy companies cheated thousands of Southwest Virginia landowners out of millions of dollars in natural gas royalties, thanks to a federal magistrate judge’s recommendation to allow a series of class-action lawsuits. For nearly three years, lawyers representing a handful of landowners have battled in federal court for the right to challenge CNX Gas and EQT Production in five class-action lawsuits intended to draw in an untold number of plaintiffs from across the region.” [Bristol Herald Courier, 6/6/13]
Attorney for the Landowners Called Ruling a “Blowout Win.” Landowner representative Don Barrett stated, “This is a blowout win by the plaintiffs … and a huge and stinging defeat for the big energy companies … which have been cheating these royalty owners for decades.” [Bristol Herald Courier, 6/6/13]
Attorney for One of the Natural Gas Companies Objected. The Bristol Herald Courier reported, “EQT already plans to file objections, said company spokeswoman Linda Robertson. ‘While we are pleased with some parts of the recommendation, others we disagree with and plan to ask the judge to reject those parts of the recommendation,’ she wrote in an email.” [Bristol Herald Courier, 6/6/13]
