Halcón Energy Mercer County Class Action Settlement

Halcón Energy Properties Inc. has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that alleges it violated oil and gas leases by failing to pay landowners according to the terms of the lease agreements.

If you or someone in your family or organization owns land in Mercer County, Pa., you may be entitled to compensation from this class action settlement.

Plaintiff Jeffrey S. Vodenichar, along with six other plaintiffs, filed the class action lawsuit against Halcón Energy, M&P and CX-Energy in 2013.

They alleged that landowners signed oil and gas leases that named Halcón Energy as a lessee for land in Mercer County, Pa.

However, they claim they never received the payments as set forth in the lease documents.

“In June 2012, Halcón entered into a binding contract under which it agreed to lease up to 60,000 acres of oil and gas rights from landowners in Mercer County,” the Halcón Energy class action lawsuit states. “Halcón agreed to pay Mercer County landowners $3,850 per acre as well as an 18.5% royalty payment.”

“Halcón, however, wrongfully and without justification repudiated its agreement and refused to pay bonus amounts that were owed under gas leases for more than 1,700 parcels of land that encompassed more than 24,000 acres of Mercer County,” the class action lawsuit continues.

The plaintiffs assert claims for breach of contract and seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages and declaratory relief against Halcón Energy.

Halcón Energy denies any wrongdoing but agreed to pay nearly $6 million to settle the class action lawsuit and avoid the burden and expense of ongoing litigation. The class action settlement was preliminarily approved on July 11, 2016.

NOTE: Halcón Energy is currently the only defendant to reach a settlement. The class action lawsuit is ongoing against defendants M&P and CX-Energy.

If you would like to exclude yourself from or object to the Halcon Mercer class action settlement, you must do so no later than Oct. 14, 2016.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members of the Halcón Energy settlement include: “All persons (1) who entered into a Landowner MarketPlace Agreement with CX-Energy and M&P relating to property located in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, (2) who executed an oil and gas lease and related documents with Halcón Energy Properties, Inc., (3) whose name was submitted to Halcón pursuant to ¶ 3 of the Halcón Agreement (as defined in the Amended Complaint), but (4) whose oil and gas lease was not paid by Halcón.”

Potential Award

Varies.

The amount of compensation each Class Member receives will be based on the net acres of their lease, if they did not later sign another oil and gas lease. It is estimated that they will receive approximately $175 to $225 per net acre.

Class Members who later signed another oil and gas lease will receive a smaller share of the settlement fund. It is estimated that they will receive between $40 and $50 per net acre.

Proof of Purchase

N/A.

If you did not receive notice of the class action settlement in the mail, you must confirm with the Claims Administrator that you signed an oil and gas lease with Halcón Energy in 2012 but were not paid.

FAQs

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS »

Claim Form Deadline

9/28/2016

Class Members who did not receive notice of the Halcón Energy settlement in the mail must contact the Claims Administrator by Sept. 28, 2016.

If you received a notice in the mail, you do not need to take any action in order to receive compensation if the settlement becomes final.

Case Name

Jeffery S. Vodenichar, et al. v. Halcón Energy Properties Inc., et al., Case No. 2013-512, in the Court of Common Pleas of Mercer County, Pennsylvania

Final Hearing

10/28/2016

Settlement Website

www.HalconMercerSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Vodenichar v. Halcón Energy
c/o GCG
P.O. Box 35100
Seattle, WA 98124-1100
Phone: (855) 907-3226
Fax: (206) 876-5201

Class Counsel

David A. Borkovic
JONES GREGG CREEHAN & GERACE LLP

Defense Counsel

Kevin L. Colosimo
BURLESON LLP