The Litigation seeks, inter alia, damages for Defendant’s alleged failure to pay statutory interest on allegedly late payments under Oklahoma law. Defendant expressly denies all allegations of wrongdoing or liability with respect to the claims and allegations in the Litigation. The Court has made no determination with respect to any of the parties’ claims or defenses. A more complete description of the Litigation, its status, and the rulings made in the Litigation are available in the pleadings and other papers maintained by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma in the file for the Litigation.

On September 3, 2021, the Court preliminarily approved a Settlement in the Litigation between Plaintiff, on behalf of itself and the Settlement Class, and Defendant. The approval and the Notice are not an expression of opinion by the Court as to the merits of any of the claims or defenses asserted by any of the parties to the Litigation, or of whether the Court will ultimately approve the Settlement Agreement.

In settlement of Released Claims alleged in the Litigation, Defendant has agreed to pay One Million, Six Hundred Thousand Dollars ($1,600,000.00) in cash (“Gross Settlement Fund”). In exchange for the payment noted above and other consideration outlined in the Settlement Agreement, the Settlement Class shall release the Released Claims (as defined in the Settlement Agreement, available for review and download on the Important Documents page of this website) against the Released Parties (as defined in the Settlement Agreement). The $1,600,000.00 cash payment is referred to as the “Gross Settlement Fund.” The Gross Settlement Fund, less Class Counsel’s Fees and Expenses, and other costs approved by the Court (the “Net Settlement Fund”), will be distributed to Final Class Members pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement does not release the Remaining Claims (as defined in the Settlement Agreement) related to the Class I alleged claims for underpaid or unpaid royalties or oil or gas proceeds payments, or interest on such underpaid or unpaid royalties.

Class intends to seek an award of attorneys’ fees of not more than 40% of the Gross Settlement Fund. Plaintiff’s Counsel, Reagan E. Bradford and Ryan K. Wilson of Bradford & Wilson and Rex Sharp of Sharp Law LLP, have been litigating this case without any payment whatsoever, advancing many thousands of dollars in expenses. At the Final Fairness Hearing, Plaintiff’s Counsel will also seek reimbursement of the litigation expenses incurred in connection with the prosecution of this Litigation and that will be incurred through final distribution of the Settlement, which amount will not exceed $150,000.00, to be paid out of the Gross Settlement Fund. In addition, Plaintiff intends to seek a nominal case contribution award for its representation of the Class, which amount will not exceed $32,000.00, to compensate Plaintiff for its time, expense, risk and burden as serving as Class Representative.

The Court must approve the Allocation Methodology, which describes how the Settlement Administrator will allocate the Net Settlement Fund. The Net Settlement Fund will be distributed by the Settlement Administrator after the Effective Date of the Settlement. The Effective Date requires the exhaustion of any appeals, which may take a year or more after the entry of Judgment. The Settlement may be terminated on several grounds, including if the Court does not approve or materially modifies the terms of the Settlement. If the Settlement is terminated, the Litigation will proceed as if the Settlement had not been reached.

The Final Fairness Hearing will be held on December 3, 2021, beginning at 10:00 a.m., before the Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma, 333 West Fourth St., Tulsa, OK 74103. Please note that the date of the Fairness Hearing is subject to change without further notice. You should check with the Court and this website to confirm no change to the date and time of the hearing has been made. At the Fairness Hearing, the Court will consider: (a) whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate; (b) any timely and properly raised objections to the Settlement; (c) the Allocation Methodology; (d) the application for Class Counsel’s Attorneys’ Fees and Litigation Expenses and Administration, Notice, and Distribution Costs; and (e) the application for a Nominal Case Contribution Award for the Class Representative.

A CLASS MEMBER WHO WISHES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SETTLEMENT AND DOES NOT SUBMIT A VALID REQUEST FOR EXCLUSION DOES NOT NEED TO APPEAR AT THE FINAL FAIRNESS HEARING OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SETTLEMENT.

By taking no action, your interests will be represented by Plaintiff as the Class Representative and Plaintiff’s Counsel. As a Class Member, you will be bound by the outcome of the Settlement, if finally approved by the Court. The Class Representative and Plaintiff’s Counsel believe that the Settlement is in the best interest of the Class, and, therefore, they intend to support the proposed Settlement at the Final Fairness Hearing. As a Class Member, if you are entitled to a distribution pursuant to the Allocation Methodology, you will receive your portion of the Net Settlement Fund and will be bound by the Settlement Agreement and all orders and judgments entered by the Court regarding the Settlement. If the Settlement is approved, unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, neither you nor any other Releasing Party will be able to start a lawsuit or arbitration, continue a lawsuit or arbitration, or be part of any other lawsuit against any of the Released Parties based on any of the Released Claims.

If you do not wish to be a member of the Settlement Class, then you must exclude yourself from the Settlement Class by mailing by certified mail, return receipt requested, a Request for Exclusion to the Settlement Administrator to be received by October 29, 2021, at 5 p.m. CT. All Requests for Exclusion must include: (i) the Class Member’s name, address, telephone number, and notarized signature; (ii) a statement that the Class Member wishes to be excluded from the Settlement Class in Pauper Petroleum, LLC v. Kaiser-Francis Oil Company; and (iii) a description of the Class Member’s interest in any wells for which it has received payments from Defendant, including the name, well number, county in which the well is located, and the owner identification number. Requests for Exclusion must be served on the Settlement Administrator, Defendant’s Counsel, and Plaintiff’s Counsel by certified mail, return receipt requested and received no later than 5 p.m. CDT on October 29, 2021. Requests for Exclusion may be mailed as follows:

If you do not follow these procedures—including mailing the Request for Exclusion so that it is received by the deadline set out above—you will not be excluded from the Settlement Class, and you will be bound by all of the orders and judgments entered by the Court regarding the Settlement, including the release of claims. You must exclude yourself even if you already have a pending case against any of the Released Parties based upon any Released Claims during the Class Period. You cannot exclude yourself on the website, by telephone, facsimile, or by e-mail. If you validly request exclusion as described above, you will not receive any distribution from the Net Settlement Fund, you cannot object to the Settlement, and you will not have released any claim against the Released Parties. You will not be legally bound by anything that happens in the Litigation.

Any Class Member who wishes to object to the fairness, reasonableness, or adequacy of the Settlement, any term of the Settlement, the Allocation Methodology, the Plan of Allocation, the request for Plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees and Litigation Expenses, or the request for a Nominal Case Contribution Award to Class Representative may file an objection. An objector must file with the Court and serve upon Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel a written objection containing the following: (a) a heading referring to Pauper Petroleum, LLC v. Kaiser-Francis Oil Company, Case No. 19-cv-514-JFH-JFJ, United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma; (b) a statement as to whether the objector intends to appear at the Final Fairness Hearing, either in person or through counsel, and, if through counsel, counsel must be identified by name, address, and telephone number; (c) a detailed statement of the specific legal and factual basis for each and every objection; (d) a list of any witnesses the objector may call at the Final Fairness Hearing, together with a brief summary of each witness’s expected testimony (to the extent the objector desires to offer expert testimony and/or an expert report, any such evidence must fully comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Evidence, and the Local Rules of the Court); (e) a list of and copies of any exhibits the objector may seek to use at the Final Fairness Hearing; (f) a list of any legal authority the objector may present at the Final Fairness Hearing; (g) the objector’s name, current address, current telephone number, and all owner identification numbers with Defendant; (h) the objector’s signature executed before a Notary Public; (i) identification of the objector’s interest in wells from which the objector has received payments by or on behalf of Defendant (by well name, payee well number, and county in which the well is located) during the Claim Period and identification of such payments by date of payment, date of production, and amount; and (j) if the objector is objecting to any portion of the Plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees or Litigation Expenses sought by Class Counsel on the basis that the amounts requested are unreasonably high, the objector must specifically state the portion of Plaintiff’s attorneys’ fees and/or Litigation Expenses he/she believes is fair and reasonable and the portion that is not. Such written objections must be filed with the Court and served on Plaintiff’s Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel, via certified mail return receipt requested, and received no later than 5 p.m. CDT by November 19, 2021, at the addresses set forth in FAQ 5. Any Class Member that fails to timely file the written objection statement and provide the required information will not be permitted to present any objections at the Final Fairness Hearing. Your written objection must be timely filed with the Court at the address below:

Clerk of the Court
United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma
Page Belcher Federal Building
333 W. 4th Street, Room 411
Tulsa, OK 74103

UNLESS OTHERWISE ORDERED BY THE COURT, ANY SETTLEMENT CLASS MEMBER WHO DOES NOT OBJECT IN THE MANNER DESCRIBED HEREIN WILL BE DEEMED TO HAVE WAIVED ANY OBJECTION AND SHALL BE FOREVER FORECLOSED FROM MAKING ANY OBJECTON TO THE SETTLEMENT (OR ANY PART THEREOF) AND WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PRESENT ANY OBJECTIONS AT THE FINAL FAIRNESS HEARING.

You have the right to retain your own attorney to represent you at the Final Fairness Hearing. If you retain separate counsel, you will be responsible to pay his or her fees and expenses out of your own pocket.

The Notice summarizes the Settlement Agreement, which sets out all of its terms. You may obtain a copy of the Settlement Agreement with its exhibits, as well as other relevant documents, from the Important Documents page, or you may request copies by contacting the Settlement Administrator set forth in FAQ 5.In addition, the pleadings and other papers filed in this Action, including the Settlement Agreement, are available for inspection in at the Office of the Clerk of the Court set forth in FAQ 6,and may be obtained by the Clerk’s office directly. The records are also available on-line for a fee through the PACER service at www.pacer.gov/. If you have any questions about the Notice, you may consult an attorney of your own choosing at your own expense or Class Counsel.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE JUDGE OR THE COURT CLERK ASKING FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THE NOTICE.