Adkins v. EQT Corporation et al

Filing 393

ORDER granting 356 Motion to Certify Class. Signed by Judge James P. Jones on 3/29/17. (flc)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
ABINGDON DIVISION
EVA MAE ADKINS, ON BEHALF OF
HERSELF AND ALL OTHERS
SIMILARLY SITUATED,
Plaintiff,
v.
EQT PRODUCTION COMPANY,
Defendant.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Case No. 1:10CV00041
ORDER AS TO
CLASS CERTIFICATION
By: James P. Jones
United States District Judge

For the reasons set forth in the Opinion accompanying this Order, it is
ORDERED as follows:
1.

The Renewed Motion for Class Certification (ECF No. 356) is

GRANTED and this action is hereby certified as a class action pursuant to Rules
23(a) and 23(b)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure with respect to the
following:
a.

The claims for conversion, excluding the issue of the

applicability of the First Marketable Product Rule; and
b.

The claims for breach of contract, excluding the issues of the

defendant’s allegedly improper deductions and applicability of the First
Marketable Product Rule, and conditional upon a motion being filed within thirty

(30) days requesting the substitution of an appropriate class representative and an
order thereafter being duly entered by the court granting such substitution;
2.

The subclass certified as to the claims for conversion (the

“Conversion Class”) is defined as follows:
Each person to whom EQT Production Company (“EQT”) has
paid since June 8, 2005, or is currently paying royalties under a lease
or leases on coalbed methane gas (“CBM”) produced by EQT from
the Nora Field in Virginia and whose lease or leases do not contain
language expressly authorizing the lessee to deduct or expressly
precluding the lessee from deducting the cost of gathering, treating,
compression, dehydration, processing, and/or transportation when
calculating royalty payments, according to business records
maintained by EQT.
The Conversion Class excludes (a) EQT, (b) the federal
government, (c) any person who serves as a judge in this civil action
and his/her spouse, (d) any person who operates a CBM well in
Virginia, and (e) any person who holds a working interest ownership
in a CBM well operated by EQT in Virginia.
3.

Eva Mae Adkins is appointed as the Conversion Class representative;

4.

The subclass certified as to the claims for breach of contract (the

“Breach of Contract Class”) is defined as follows:
Each person to whom EQT Production Company (“EQT”) has
paid since June 8, 2005, or is currently paying royalties under a lease
or leases on coalbed methane gas (“CBM”) produced by EQT from
the Nora Field in Virginia and whose lease or leases do not contain
language expressly authorizing the lessee to deduct or expressly
precluding the lessee from deducting the cost of gathering, treating,
compression, dehydration, processing, and/or transportation when
calculating royalty payments, and whose lease or leases are identical
“Type A” leases as categorized by the plaintiff’s expert, Alyce Hoge,
according to business records maintained by EQT.
-2-

The Breach of Contract Class excludes (a) EQT, (b) the federal
government, (c) any person who serves as a judge in this civil action
and his/her spouse, (d) any person who operates a CBM well in
Virginia, and (e) any person who holds a working interest ownership
in a CBM well operated by EQT in Virginia.
5.

The Breach of Contract Class representative is to be determined

following the filing of the appropriate motion and entry of corresponding order;
and
6.

The following law firms are appointed jointly as counsel for both

subclasses: Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP; Daniel Coker Horton &
Bell, P.A.; Glubiak Law Office; Neal & Harwell, PLC; Law Offices of Richard R.
Barrett, PLLC; Barrett Law Group, P.A.; and The White Law Office.

ENTER: March 29, 2017
/s/ James P. Jones
United States District Judge

-3-