Texas Royalty Owners Win Big
Chesapeake Energy and Total E&P have agreed to pay $52.5 million to landowners who were cheated out of natural gas royalties.
Related: Chesapeake Owes Fort Worth School District $1 Million
The two energy companies announced on Monday that they will settle lawsuits filed by 13,000 property owners on Tarrant and Johnson counties.
“We are pleased to have reached a mutually acceptable resolution of this legacy issue and look forward to further strengthening our relationships with our royalty owners,” Chesapeake spokesman Gordon Pennoyer said in a prepared statement.
Chesapeake is ordered to pay $29.3 million, with Tootal paying $13.1 million in cash. Chesapeake will pay another $10 million in three years.
McDonald law firm and Cicelli, Walter & Young represent the plaintiffs, who must still approve the deal by a vast majority (90%). Payments will vary based on production and lease language and will likely range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.
In April, Chesapeake Energy revealed they would pay the Fort Worth School District $1 million in royalties after reaching an out-of-court settlement from a 2014 case where the school district. The company had improperly deducted expenses from royalties owed to the district and its taxpayers.