Texans seek class action certification in suit against Talisman Energy USA
If four South Texas landowners get their way, a federal judge will certify the individual lawsuits they filed against Talisman Energy USA in 2016 as a class action. The plaintiffs allege that Talisman shorted them on royalty payments for oil leases on their land.
The four recently filed a motion to have their lawsuits against Talisman joined as a class, arguing that as many as 4,000 other royalty owners from Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas and Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania could join the ongoing litigation.
Bryan Blevins, a partner with Houston-based Provost Umphrey Law Firm LLP, said, “It’s clear that Talisman knew what they were doing when the company voluntarily commingled production from different wells and then allocated net sales in violation of best oil field practices and Texas law. We intend to prove that the amounts paid to the royalty owners were based on manipulated production volumes.” The plaintiffs are seeking to have Blevins and another member of his firm named as their lead counsel.
According to court filings, Talisman denies any wrongdoing.
The pending lawsuits claim Talisman manipulated production volumes for oil wells operated in the two shale basins named in the suit.
Talisman Energy USA is an indirect subsidiary of Calgary, Alberta–based Talisman Energy Inc., which was acquired by Repsol S.A. in 2015.
The case is Rayanne Regmund Chesser, Gloria Janssen, Michael Newberry and Carol Newberry v. Talisman EnergyUSA, Inc. No. 4:16-cv-02960 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division.