The Bradford County Commissioners have just announced that they will be holding a public forum on the proposed class settlement in the Demchak Partners case on December 2, 2015 at 7 p.m., at theTowanda High School auditorium. We have been invited to make a presentation at the forum, and will be there to field questions and provide information. See http://www.thedailyreview.com/news/2015-11-19/Today%27s_Top_Stories/Press_conference_held_on_class_action_lawsuit.html
Thank you to everyone who attended one of the six town-hall meetings we held this week in Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties. The response was amazing -- a total of over 1,000 people turned-out to obtain more information about the proposed settlement in the Demchak Partners case, and about the alternatives available to all royalty owners to protect and enforce their rights -- regardless of whether you are a member of the settlement class in the Demchak case.
If you were not able to make it to one of our town-hall meetings, the Bradford County Commissioners have just announced that they will be holding a public forum about the proposed class settlement in the Demchak Partners case on December 2, 2015 at 7 p.m., at theTowanda High School auditorium. We have been invited to make a presentation at the forum, and will be there to field questions and provide information. Many royalty owners who just received notices in the mail about a proposed Class Settlement in the Demchak Partners class action have contacted us in the mistaken belief that we are involved in the proposed settlement. We are not. Other royalty owners have contacted us to ask about how the proposed settlement in the Demchak Partners case impacts our approach to litigation and arbitration of royalty owner claims.
To be clear, we do not represent any of the representative plaintiffs in the Demchak Partners case, and were not involved in the negotiation, execution or request for preliminary approval of the settlement. We do represent many individual royalty owners who have Market Enhancement Clauses in their leases, and who therefore fall within the definition of the Settlement Class. As a result, our clients, like all members of the Settlement Class, wil need to decide whether to remain in the Settlement Class or to opt-out by submitting a request to be excluded from the Settlement Class by the December 17 deadline. We will be sending a letter this week to those of our clients who have Market Enhancement Clauses in their leases scheduling a conference call to discuss the Demchak Partners settlement. The letter will include a form of request for exclusion from the Settlement Class, along with instructions for completion and submission of the form. If you can't make the call, feel free to call us directly. We have our own opinions about the proposed Class Settlement in the Demchak Partners case, which we will be sharing with our clients. Publicly, we are neither recommending the proposed Class Settlement in the Demchak Partners case nor encouraging royalty owners to opt-out of the Settlement Class. We believe that every royalty owner who has a Market Enhancement Clause in his lease need to make an informed decision as to whether the proposed settlement is in his best interests. We also believe that, in order to make an informed decision, you need to understand the details of the proposed settlement and your alternatives. We encourage royalty owners to consult with an attorney for assistance in evaluating the proposed settlement and their alternatives. The bottom line is that we are offering an ALTERNATIVE approach to the Class Settlement in the Demchak Partners case. If you have a Market Enhancement Clause in your lease, and are by definition a member of the Settlement Class, you need to decide whether it is in your best interests to remain in the Settlement Class or to opt-out and pursue your claims separately. You cannot do both. Choose wisely. Have you received notice or heard about the proposed Class Settlement in the Demchak Partners class action? If so, you know that members of the Settlement Class have only until December 17 to decide whether to remain part of the Class Settlement or to opt-out and pursue your claims separately. Are you a member of the Settlement Class? What are your alternatives? What if you are not a member of the Settlement Class? What alternatives do you have to recover the royalties owed to you? What deadlines do you face?
We invite you to attend one of our upcoming Town Hall Meetings for Chesapeake royalty owners. Learn about your potential alternatives, regardless of whether you are a member of the Settlement Class. Find out more about our alternative approach, and about the status of the various other pending litigation, arbitrations, investigations and proposed legislation that may affect the interests of Pennsylvania royalty owners. Here is the schedule for our upcoming Town Hall Meetings: Monday, November 16: 10:00 am @ Wyalusing Presbyterian Church, 102 Church St, Wyalusing 2:00 pm @ St. Francis of Assisi Hall, Rt 487, Mildred 6:00 pm @ American Legion Post 510 Bingo Hall, 328 Old Route 6, Laceyville Tuesday, November 17: 10:00 am @ Hampton Inn, 209 E. Tioga St, Tunkhannock 2:00 pm @ VFW Ayers-Stone Post 5642, Rt 706, Montrose 6:00 pm @ Wysox Fire Hall, Lake Rd, Wysox There is no cost or obligation to attend, and no need to register in advance. We look forward to meeting you. |