A natural gas company being sued over royalty payouts to landowners in the Fayetteville Shale has filed petitions for rehearings in the Arkansas Supreme Court over two of the lawsuits against the company.
The court did not consider all of the claims made by Southwestern Energy Co. subsidiary Southwestern Energy Exploration Company Inc., the company argued in filings this week in its appeals over lower-court decisions certifying the cases for class-action status. The company's attorneys also argued against some conclusions drawn by the court.
The Supreme Court upheld the class certifications Dec. 8. The company petitioned Tuesday for rehearings in Eldridge Snow v. SEECO Inc. and Sara Stewmon v. SEECO Inc., et. al.
The classes in each case have been certified to represent thousands of Arkansas residents who signed leases with SEECO to allow the company to access natural gas underneath their land while the company was actively drilling in the Fayetteville Shale. The leases stipulated that landowners be compensated for the use of their land, but landowners have sued the company, arguing that it made improper deductions from royalties paid to them.
A federal case, Connie Jean Smith v. SEECO Inc., et. al., is also certified for class-action, representing people with leases who live in and out of Arkansas.
Metro on 12/30/2016