For several years, XTO Energy Inc. of Texas has been fighting class-action lawsuits in which it stands accused of underpayments on gas royalties.
In the latest case, an Arkansas Federal judge on Wednesday declined class certification to several royalty owners who sued XTO, a company with offices in Oklahoma City and Fort Worth.
The suit alleged XTO defrauded them by selling gas to a subsidiary of the company known as Cross Timbers Energy Services Inc. at below-market rates. In turn, that meant less money for the royalty owners.
It’s only the latest in such lawsuits and rulings. Last year, a Kansas federal judge made a similar ruling in a lawsuit brought by natural gas royalty owners who also claimed the company had improperly deducted processing expenses from their payments. The judge threw out the proposed class action against XTO Energy Inc.
In 2009, an Oklahoma City federal judge granted class action in a $27 million dollar lawsuit filed against XTO Energy. The lawsuit claimed royalty owners were underpaid 15 percent on the 290 wells they owned in the Oklahoma Panhandle and southwest Kansas.
