If you received payment of oil-and-gas proceeds from production from an Oklahoma oil and/or gas well from Defendant Merit Energy Company, LLC ("Merit") dated between September 30, 2017 and April 30, 2024, you may be a member of the Settlement Class in the Litigation described below.
The Settlement Class in the Litigation consists all non-excluded persons or entities who during the Claim Period: (1) received an Untimely Payment from Merit for oil and gas proceeds from Oklahoma wells, or on whose behalf an Untimely Payment was sent as unclaimed property to a government entity by Merit; and (2) whose proceeds did not include the statutory interest required by the PRSA.
Excluded from the Settlement Class are: (1) Merit, its affiliates, predecessors, and employees, officers, and directors; and (2) agencies, departments, or instrumentalities of the United States of America or the State of Oklahoma; (3) Publicly traded oil and gas companies and their affiliates and subsidiaries; (4) any Indian tribe as defined at 30 U.S.C. § 1702(4) or Indian allotee as defined at 30 U.S.C. § 1702(2); (5) any officers of the Court; (6) persons previously paid interest by Merit.
“Untimely Payment” means a payment of proceeds from the sale of oil or gas production produced from an Oklahoma well after the statutory periods identified in Okla. Stat. tit. 52, § 570.10(B)(1) or (2). Untimely Payments do not include: (a) payments of proceeds equal to or less than $25; (b) prior period adjustments; (c) payments made on or before September 29, 2017 or on or after May 1, 2024; and (d) joint interest billing netted amounts.
The Claim Period means checks or payments made or issued by Merit dated between September 30, 2017, through April 30, 2024, subject to the terms of the Settlement Agreement regarding Released Claims.
If you are unsure whether you are included in the Settlement Class, you may contact the Settlement Administrator at:
GOP, LLC v. Merit Energy Company, LLC, Settlement
c/o Kroll Settlement Administrator LLC
P.O. Box 225391
New York, NY 10150-5391
Call Toll-Free: (833) 739-5616
| Summary of Legal Rights | Deadline(s) | |
Do Nothing
| The only way to receive a payment from the settlement. | N/A |
Exclude Yourself by Opting Out of the Class
| Receive no payment. This is the only option that allows you to keep your right to bring any other lawsuit against the Released Parties for the same claims. | Mailed and postmarked on or before December 30, 2024
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Object to the Settlement and/or Attend the Final Approval Hearing
| You can write the Court about why you agree or disagree with the settlement. The Court cannot order a different settlement, they can only accept or reject the settlement in the Settlement Agreement. You can also ask to speak to the Court at the Final Fairness Hearing on January 27, 2025, about the fairness of the settlement, with or without your own attorney. | Mailed and received on or before January 6, 2025 |