UPDATE: A motion for preliminary approval of the settlements in this case was filed on May 14, 2024, which motion was granted by the Court on May 15, 2024. These documents may be downloaded from the “Case Documents” page on this website. A notice to class members describing the settlements and providing further information will be mailed on or about August 16, 2024. Please check this website in the future for further updates.
You are receiving this Notice because records show you were owed or paid oil and natural gas royalties by Jay-Bee Production Company, JB Exploration I, LLC, and/or BB Land, LLC, and you may be a class member in a class action lawsuit to recover additional royalty payments.
Please read this Notice carefully, as the class action lawsuit may affect your rights.
A federal court authorized this Notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.
You are not being sued.
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE JUDGE, THE COURT, OR JAY-BEE.
- This Notice provides information about a class action lawsuit filed against several defendants, including Jay-Bee Production Company, JB Exploration I, LLC, and/or BB Land, LLC (collectively, “Jay-Bee”) over royalty payments on natural gas production in the State of West Virginia.
- The Court has allowed the lawsuit to proceed as a class action, and you may be a class member. This Notice explains your rights regarding the claims in the lawsuit.
- In the lawsuit, Plaintiffs allege that Jay-Bee failed to properly calculate and pay royalties on natural gas and natural gas liquids (“NGLs”) under the royalty provisions contained in certain oil and gas leases, resulting in underpayments to the royalty owners.
- Jay-Bee disputes Plaintiffs’ claims and takes the position that its royalty practices satisfy the contractual obligations.
- Your rights and options - and the deadlines to exercise them - are explained in more detail in this Notice. To be excluded, you must act before December 27, 2023.
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Your Legal Rights and Options In This Lawsuit |
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Do Nothing |
Stay in this lawsuit. Await the outcome. Share in benefits, if any become available. Give up certain rights. By doing nothing, you will remain a Class Member and will keep the possibility of recovering money or other benefits that may result from a trial or a settlement. You will also be bound by any judgment the Court enters, including any judgment that is entered in Jay-Bee’s favor. |
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Exclude Yourself |
Get out of this lawsuit. Get no benefits from it. Keep your rights to bring your own lawsuit against Jay-Bee. If you request to be excluded from the lawsuit and if any money or benefits later become available, you will not be eligible to share in those benefits. You will keep any rights to sue Jay-Bee on your own about the same legal claims in this lawsuit and will not be bound by any judgment in the case. |
Basic Information
1. Why did the Court issue this Notice?
This Notice is to inform you that this lawsuit has been “certified” as a class action. A class action is a type of lawsuit where a group of people who have similar legal claims join together to sue someone. Instead of each person filing a separate lawsuit, they combine their cases into one case. This means that the lawsuit meets the requirements for a class action under the law and may proceed to trial as a class action.
The Honorable Judge John Preston Bailey of the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia at Wheeling is overseeing this case. The case is known as Hopper, et al. v. Jay-Bee Oil & Gas, Inc., et al., No. 5:20-cv-101 (lead) (consolidated with Case No. 5:20-cv-110).
The parties that sued are called the Plaintiffs, and the entities and persons being sued are called the Defendants. The Plaintiffs in this case are Brenda Lea Hopper and Debra Lynn Kurfis, as Co-Executrixes of the Estate of Allen E. Smith, Judith E. Ash-Young, Richard Armstrong, and Donald Reynolds. The Defendants are Jay-Bee Oil & Gas, Inc., Jay-Bee Production Company, JB Exploration I, LLC, BB Land, LLC, Jay-Bee Royalty, LLC, JBU, LLC, Abacus Union, LLC, DMRB Services, LLC, JB Exploration II, LLC, Deborah V. Broda-Morgan,, and Peter Sachs, as Administrator Ad Litem of the Estate of Randall J. Broda.
2. What is the lawsuit about?
Plaintiffs claim that Jay-Bee has and continues to make improper deductions for post-production expenses in its calculation and payment of royalties to the Class Members under certain oil and gas leases. Post- production expenses include one or more of the following: gathering, compression, treating, processing, transportation, and/or marketing. The Plaintiffs also claim that Jay-Bee defrauded Class Members by representing on monthly royalty statements that the royalties paid represented the “gross” proceeds received, when in fact such amounts were “net” of post-production expenses.
Jay-Bee claims that it has complied with the terms of the gas royalty provisions contained in the leases in calculating royalty payments, that all royalties are being properly paid, and that it did not defraud any Class Members.
3. Why is this a class action?
Plaintiffs sued Jay-Bee as “Class Representatives” on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of these individuals are a “Class” or “Class Members.” The Court will resolve the issues for all class members, except for those who properly exclude themselves from the Class (see Question 9).
4. What are Plaintiffs asking for?
Plaintiffs are asking for money from Jay-Bee for the Class Representatives and the Class for alleged royalty underpayments. Plaintiffs want to obtain payments for additional royalties alleged to be owed to Class Members for natural gas and NGLs extracted and produced from their property or leasehold, as well as for damages, including punitive damages, resulting from the fraud alleged to have been committed by Jay-Bee.
Who Is Included in the Lawsuit?
5. Who is part of the Class?
The Court certified a class defined as:
All persons and entities, including their respective successors and assigns, who, since May 21, 2010, were paid or due royalties from Jay-Bee under leases pertaining to the wells identified in Exhibit 1 [to the motion for class certification] located in the State of West Virginia (the “Class Leases”). Excluded from the Class are: (1) agencies of the United States of America; (2) publicly traded oil and gas exploration companies; (3) Defendants, their corporate affiliates, and their current officers and employees; (4) any person whose royalty underpayment claim against Defendants is subject to a binding arbitration provision.
6. I’m still not sure if I’m included in the lawsuit.
If you aren’t sure whether you are included in the lawsuit, you may call 1-844-744-8424, visit the Contact Us section at www.Jay-BeeClassAction.com, or email questions to JayBeeAdmin@baileyglasser.com.
7. Is there any money available now?
No money or benefits are available now because the Court has not fully decided the case and the two sides have not settled the case. Plaintiffs are seeking to recover monetary benefits. There is no guarantee that money benefits will ever be obtained.
Your Rights and Options
If you are a Class Member, you have a choice whether to remain a Class Member and to be represented by the Class Representatives and Class Counsel, or exclude yourself. Each choice will have its consequences, which you should understand before making your decision.
8. What happens if I do nothing?
If you do nothing, you will remain a part of the Class. If the lawsuit results in a settlement or judgment in favor of the Class, your share of that settlement or judgment will be your complete recovery for the claims asserted. If the lawsuit results in a judgment in favor of Jay-Bee, you will be bound by the judgment.
9. What if I don’t want to be a part of the Class?
If you decide not to participate in this lawsuit, you must exclude yourself from the Class. If you exclude yourself, you will not be bound by the outcome of the lawsuit. You will receive no benefits that may result from this lawsuit, and you will not be bound by any court orders. You may choose to take no further action or you may file an individual claim against Jay-Bee at your own expense in a separate proceeding, if allowed by law.
To exclude yourself from the Class, you must mail a letter that includes the following:
- Your full name, current address, property address (if different), telephone number, and signature; and
- A statement substantially to the effect of “I/We hereby request that I/we be excluded from the certified Class in the Hopper v. Jay-Bee Oil & Gas, Inc., No. 5:20-cv-101.”
You must mail your letter postmarked by December 27, 2023 to:
Hopper v. Jay-Bee Oil & Gas, Inc.
c/o ILYM Group, Inc. Notice Administrator
P.O Box 2031
Tustin, CA 92781
10. If I don’t exclude myself, may I sue later for these same claims?
No. If the case proceeds to judgment and no recovery is obtained on behalf of the class, unless you properly exclude yourself from the Class, you give up any right to sue Jay-Bee for the claims being resolved in this lawsuit.
The Lawyers Representing You
11. Do I have a lawyer in this lawsuit?
Yes. The Court has, among others, appointed the following lawyers as “Class Counsel” to represent the interests of the Class:
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Brian R. Swiger Jonathan R. Marshall Victor S. Woods John A. Budig |
J. Michael Benninger Benninger Law, PLLC Post Office Box 623 Morgantown, WV 26507 |
Timothy R. Linkous Linkous Law, PLLC |
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Scott A. Windom |
William E. Ford III |
If you want to be represented by a different lawyer, you may hire one to appear in Court for you at your own expense.
12. How will the lawyers representing the Class be paid?
You do not have to pay Class Counsel. If the class action results in a settlement or a judgment in favor of the class, Class Counsel will seek an award of attorneys’ fees and costs from the Court, which, if awarded, will either be deducted from the amount of the settlement or judgment.
The Trial
13. When and where will the trial take place?
If the case is not settled or otherwise resolved, Plaintiffs must prove their claims at a trial, which is currently scheduled to take place on January 23, 2024 before the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, located at 1125 Chapline Street, Wheeling, WV 26003. Please check www.Jay-BeeClassAction.com or call 1-844-744-8424 to keep up to date on the date, time, and location of the trial. During the trial, the Court and\or jury will hear the evidence, so it can decide whether the Plaintiffs or Jay-Bee are right about the royalty underpayment and fraud claims asserted in the lawsuit.
14. Will I get money after the trial?
There is no way to know yet. If you do not exclude yourself from the Class, and if Plaintiffs win at trial, you will receive your portion of the overall judgment by check in the mail. Important information about the case will be posted on the website, www.Jay-BeeClassAction.com, as it becomes available.
Getting More information
15. How do I get more information about the lawsuit?
This Notice summarizes the lawsuit. You can get a copy of Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Class Action Complaint and other important information about the lawsuit www.Jay-BeeClassAction.com. You may also contact the Notice Administrator directly with any questions:
Hopper v. Jay-Bee Oil & Gas, Inc.
c/o ILYM Group, Inc. Notice Administrator
P.O Box 2031
Tustin, CA 92781
1-844-744-8424
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE JUDGE, THE COURT, OR JAY-BEE.