Ralph Taylor and Lloyd Baker, individually and on behalf of all similarly situated individuals and legal entities, have filed a lawsuit against EQT TGHL Exploration, LLC, and Tug Hill Operating, LLC in the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. The case ID is 5:24-cv-00082-JPB and was filed on April 29, 2024.
The plaintiffs, both adult residents of West Virginia owning oil and gas interests in the state, allege that the defendants violated their oil and gas leases. EQT TGHL Exploration, LLC is a Texas-based company with its principal place of business in Pennsylvania while Tug Hill Operating, LLC is also a Texas-based company doing business in West Virginia.
The plaintiffs entered into an oil and gas lease with THEX (the predecessor of EQT TGHL Exploration) covering various acres located in Marshall County, West Virginia. They allege that Tug Hill Operating handled all administrative and operational duties associated with their leases up to November 30, 2023.
It is the plaintiffs belief that the defendants used misleading royalty statements to obscure the true price paid for the oil and gas extracted from their lands and covertly deducted their costs in the royalty calculations. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants entered into 3rd party agreements to sell the product which included fees such as transporting, processing, gathering and marketing fees. These were included in the royalty calculations "passing through" these costs to the plaintiffs, reducing the royalty payments.
Taylor and Baker are seeking judgment for damages exceeding $75,000 exclusive of interest and costs under 28 U.S.C. §1332. They also invoke the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (“CAFA”), claiming that the matter in controversy exceeds $5 million after aggregating the claims of class members.
