Rupert stated that he reached out to Mr. Altomare regarding these issues in August 2017 and continued thereafter to periodically advise Mr. Altomare concerning the expenses that he believed Range was improperly deducting from class royalties. With respect to the "PHI-Proc Fee" claim, Range argued that this fee was being properly deducted in a non-redundant fashion in accordance with the terms of the Original Settlement Agreement governing NGLs; Mr. $726 million paid to paula marburger williston. Altomare did not consider this claim strong enough to litigate and, in fact, Mr. Ryan appears to concede that Range can deduct processing charges from royalties associated with NGLs. The following procedures apply: (1) The court must direct notice in a reasonable manner to all class members who would be bound by the proposal. Online PA Court Records. Plaintiffs alleged, among other things, that: (a) Range has improperly calculated the [PPC] Cap by using MMBTUs (each, one million British Thermal Units) instead of MCFs (each, 1, 000 cubic feet) as the multiplier required by Section 3.
Counsel found this defense to be meritorious. The Proponents of the Settlement Are Experienced Litigators. On March 17, 2011, following notice and a fairness hearing, Judge McLaughlin issued a memorandum opinion and order certifying the class and granting final approval of the parties' operative settlement agreement (the "Original Settlement Agreement"). Like the Girsh factors, most of the Prudential factors that are relevant in this case have already been addressed in connection with the Court's discussion of the factors codified in Rule 23(e)(2)(A)-(D). For reasons that are discussed in more detail below, the Court considers this requested fee excessive under the unique circumstances of this case; however, the Court also has the discretion to adjust the fee award to a more appropriate figure. $726 million paid to paula marburger murder. They contend that the original settlement class was defined in terms of "persons" who were parties to a certain class of leases, whereas the Supplemental Settlement contemplates a class defined in terms of the leases themselves. The Court declines to do so, as it perceives no jurisdictional necessity for recertification, and it is not clear that the class as a whole (however defined) would benefit appreciably from such measures. 23, Advisory Committee Notes to 2018 Amendments (noting that subsections 23(e)(2)(A) and (B) "identify matters that might be described as 'procedural' concerns, looking to the conduct of the litigation and of the negotiations leading up to the proposed settlement"). In re Google Inc. 3d at 331.
This, of course, will result in significant expense. Range strenuously disputed this estimate and, on September 18, 2018, Range's counsel provided Mr. Altomare a spreadsheet (apparently totaling nearly 900 pages), which detailed the company's own internal calculations of the MCF/MMBTU royalties differential. Altomare also wanted to know whether the figures in Range's data for sales proceeds and product volumes represented gross or net figures, which would help him ascertain how certain charges were being applied. But because the objectors' arguments for removal are intertwined with their challenges to the proposed settlement and the fee request, and because these matters will likely be definitively addressed on appeal, the Court will deny the Bigley Objectors' motion to remove counsel without prejudice to be reasserted at a later point in time, should future developments in this case warrant a revisiting of that issue. 00) ('the Gross Settlement Amount'), less any amount awarded as costs and fees to Class Counsel (the 'Net Settlement Amount'), " in accordance with a designated time table. 6 million paid to paula marburger iii. 2(B)(1)(a) of the Settlement Agreement. He claimed that many time entries listed on Mr. Altomare's revised client statement were his own and not Mr. Altomare's. He arrives at the 2, 721. Solid Waste Authority.
It is true that Judge McLaughlin certified a settlement "class" defined by "persons" who held a specific classification of royalty interest at the time of certification. Agent Actions, 148 F. 3d 283, 299 (3d Cir. In an email to Mr. Poole dated March 17, 2014, Mr. Altomare addressed a number of outstanding issues and concluded by stating: "Lastly, we have not yet resolved the MCF/MMBTU discrepancy in the amended class leases - I am inclined not to press this, but we should discuss it. To the extent this claim is framed as a breach of the Original Settlement Agreement, Range has a colorable statute of limitations defense that may well bar any recovery for royalty shortfalls occurring before January 2014. Even so, Mr. Altomare's billing entries contain many material inaccuracies, which significantly impairs their reliability and utility. Additionally, "due process further requires that notice be 'reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections. '" After that request was denied by the Court, Mr. Altomare advocated for a scope of discovery that would be as broad as a court-ordered audit.
In fact, the record shows that this dialogue was ongoing even before Class Counsel filed the Motion to Enforce, as various issues were hashed out between Mr. Altomare and Range's agents on an ad hoc basis, often with the input of Mr. Rupert. Lazy Oil Co. Witco Corp., 166 F. 3d 581, 589 (3d Cir. Range had calculated damages using two different methodologies and placed the shortfall in the range of $10-$14 million; however, Range had a plausible basis for arguing that $10, 127, 266 was the more accurate estimation, because it was predicated on a detailed analysis of royalties paid to each interest holder and accounted for certain variables that the $14 million figure did not take into account. Viewed in this light, the $12 million settlement fund is an eminently fair recovery. The Supplemental Settlement also provides retrospective monetary relief. Rupert stated that the time entry for the "Whittingtons" referenced a file path name that actually came from his own computer. 25 of work hours, represents a "voluntar[y] and considerabl[e] reduc[tion]" of his hours. Next, the Court considers the adequacy of the proposed relief in light of "any agreement required to be identified under Rule 23(e)(3). " The Court perceives no need to address that issue at the present time. After Mr. Altomare made a demand for that amount, however, Range again disputed his calculations and pointed to a number of specific accounting errors that Mr. Altomare had made, including (among other things): incorrectly assuming that a uniform cap of $0.
With respect to the columns in Class Counsel's time sheets that contained the heading "Attention to" and entries for time billed by Class Counsel in reference to Mr. Rupert's clients, Mr. Altomare explained that those entries had nothing to do with Mr. Rupert's services to the named clients but instead represented "time spent by Class Counsel in consultation with Mr. Rupert... concerning the issues... brought to him by those persons. The Aten Objectors similarly posit that the Court "should critically review Class Counsel's judgment and assurances because of the serious issues associated with Class Counsel's submissions of the time entries associated with this matter. Counsel concluded that this issue was an individual issue not litigable on a class-wide basis and therefore improvidently asserted. The Court finds that, while the attorneys were at all times professional in their demeanor, they also acted as zealous advocates for their respective clients. Emergency and Safety. In response to the objecting class members, Mr. Altomare denied that the proposed Supplemental Settlement requires a separate class certification process or an opportunity for opting out.
In terms of delay, the Court notes that the disputes at issue in the proposed Supplemental Settlement date back to events that started in 2011. As discussed below, these considerations significantly inform the Court's analysis of Class Counsel's fee application. His delay not only extended the duration of Range's alleged underpayments but also gave rise to Range's colorable defense that the class's MCF/MMBTU claim was time-barred. 25 work hours are multiplied by an hourly rate of $475, yielding a lodestar of $1, 292. Contact our webmaster. Range would have to identify every DOI schedule for every well for every class owner.
Because the Court cannot alter the terms of the Supplemental Settlement Agreement, it cannot grant the objectors' request for a direct opt out. Arguably, Mr. Altomare should have been aware of the discrepancy in the Order Amending Leases when it was filed on March 17, 2011, as that issue had previously been raised at the fairness hearing. The instant civil action was transferred to Judge Bissoon on January 25, 2018 in light of former Judge McLaughlin's resignation from the federal bench in 2013. See, e. g., In re NFL Players concussion Injury Litig., 821 F. 3d at 436 (concluding that district court did not abuse its discretion in finding class counsels' informal discovery to be sufficient). The Court's discussion is therefore limited to Range's other objections.
In accordance with Rule 23(e)(5), class members were given an opportunity to file objections. He noted that the class's outstanding discovery requests were designed to verify gross volumes of product, clarify any withholdings, and indicate the amount of proceeds realized. In October 2008, the case was removed to this jurisdiction, where it was assigned to then-United States District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin. The preparation and recording of this document will require additional time and expense, including the payment of recording fees of every county where a class is located.
The Court also credits Range's assertion that the "division order" contemplated by Mr. Altomare would impose a substantial administrative burden on Range which it did not agree to assume. 5 percent of Class No. This line of argument is not persuasive in that Mr. Altomare's work hours culminating in the 2011 settlement were already factored into his 2011 fee award. The Aten Objectors, however, have also asserted a jurisdictional challenge on the grounds that the "class, " as contemplated by the Supplemental Settlement, is not the same "class" that was certified by Judge McLaughlin in connection with the Original Settlement Agreement. Of Reed Smith LLP and Attorney Kevin C. Abbott, both of whom have extensive experience in oil and gas matters and have tried and settled similar class actions, including the settlement of royalty claims in this district. On that point, the objectors maintain that Mr. Altomare was conflicted in that he was incentivized to rush into an inadequate settlement in an effort to remedy his past mistake. At the same time, the Court recognizes that Mr. Altomare put considerable effort into litigating the MMBTU issue and negotiating the settlement. Second, Mr. Altomare did not maintain contemporaneous billing records for his consultations with Mr. Rupert, and his reconstructed billing records are ultimately too inaccurate to serve as a reliable account of his time in that regard.
Accordingly, the Court finds that Class Counsel's fee application must be rejected in substantial measure. 25 work hours should be utilized in a lodestar cross-check. To that end, the parties agreed to seek a court order that would effectuate the agreed-upon amendments by formally incorporating them into the class members' leases. As explained by Range, class members who hold leases associated with conventional oil and gas wells, and class members who hold leases but do not yet have wells developed, may benefit in the future from the fact that the Amended Order Amending Leases now requires wet and dry gas from shale wells to conform to the MCF measurement contemplated in the Original Settlement Agreement. Whitten's job duties include overseeing the management of Range's master computer files for owner set-up and interest percentage participation in wells, information that is used for the distribution of revenues. 03 per 84, ΒΆΒΆ-2 (emphasis added). The Objectors have also suggested that Class Counsel was inadequate in that he lacked an understanding of some of the basic issues in this case. Although the $12 million settlement fund is not strictly attributable to the MCF/MMBTU claim alone, that amount substantially meets, and potentially exceeds, the amount of class-wide damages stemming from the MCF/MMBTU shortfall. The Aten Objectors have posited that the Court should consider alternative remedies in lieu of approving the Supplemental Settlement.
Rupert further acknowledged being made aware that Range had changed its practice to start including FCI charges in the PPC cap after Mr. Altomare raised that issue in the Motion to Enforce. And even if the Court were to determine that the motion was properly and timely asserted under Rule 60(a), Range could plausibly argue that it would be inequitable for Range to be required to pay seven years' worth of back-damages. On that point, the record shows that Range changed its accounting practices and has been including FCI expenses in the PPC Cap since approximately July of 2018. at 131; ECF No. 2(B) (emphasis added). See e. g., Marburger et al. Court of Common Pleas. The present phase of the litigation formally commenced in January 2018, when the Motion to Enforce was filed, and terminated in January 2019 when the present settlement terms were reached. The class also faced risks in terms of establishing Range's liability on the other claims in the Motion to Enforce. "[T]his method 'is designed to allow courts to award fees from the fund in a manner that rewards counsel for success and penalizes it for failure. '" This, however, is not a typical or garden-variety common fund case. No challenges have been raised concerning the adequacy of the named Plaintiffs as class representatives, but the objectors have vigorously challenged the adequacy of Mr. Altomare's representation in his capacity as Class Counsel. As Range lacks the staff to dedicate employees to a short-term project of this magnitude, it would have to hire outside contractors, who will charge significant fees, to accomplish these changes. The objectors having accepted the benefits of being in the class --including the caps that have been applied to date on PPC -- due process does not demand they now be afforded a second opportunity to opt out of the Supplemental Settlement Agreement. Ii) Charging "double" for Purchased Fuel.
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