Hale v. CNX Gas Company, LLC et al

Filing 516

ORDER granting 458 Motion to Certify Class; denying 505 Motion for Hearing. 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
JEFFERY CARLOS HALE,
ON BEHALF OF HIMSELF
AND ALL OTHERS
SIMILARLY SITUATED,
Plaintiff,
v.
CNX GAS COMPANY, LLC,
Defendant.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Case No. 1:10CV00059
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. 458) 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
claims for breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and unjust enrichment, but
excluding the issues of the defendant’s allegedly late payments into escrow and
alleged production prior to obtaining pooling orders;
2.

The class certified (the “Class”) is defined as follows:

All coalbed methane gas (“CBM”) claimants who were
identified by CNX Gas Company, LLC (“CNX”) in filings with the
Virginia Gas and Oil Board as unleased owners of CBM estate

interests and for whom CNX has applied, as of the later of the date of
this Court’s class certification order or the resolution of an
interlocutory appeal of such order, pursuant to Virginia Code § 45.1361.22:2(A), for the release of funds held in escrow or internally, and
all such gas claimants who have received distributions from escrow or
directly from CNX as a result of a judicial determination of ownership
or agreement between September 23, 2010 and January 1, 2016. “Gas
claimants” is as defined by Virginia Code § 45.1-361.1.
The Class excludes (a) CNX, (b) any person who serves as a
judge in this civil action and his/her spouse, (c) any individuals who
have received a Court-supervised accounting of CNX’s CBM royalty
payments into escrow or internal suspense, and (d) any person who
operates a CBM well in Virginia and any person who holds a working
interest in a CBM well operated by CNX in Virginia.
3.

Jeffrey Carlos Hale is appointed as Class representative;

4.

The following law firms are appointed jointly as Class counsel:

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; and
5.

The Motion for Hearing (ECF No. 505) is DENIED.

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

-2-