Sep. 8--Three Dallas law firms have formed a litigation group and are meeting with Tarrant County residents who could become parties to lawsuits against energy companies involved in leasing properties for Barnett Shale natural gas drilling.

The North Texas Lease Litigation Group said it will hold an information session at tonight's 7:30 meeting of the Meadows of CandleRidge Homeowners Association at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 4500 Columbus Trail in southwest Fort Worth.

The Litigation Group consists of Petroff & Associates, Riddle & Williams and Mathis & Donheiser.

The group says agreements reached between homeowners' association alliances and energy companies are "binding lease agreements" even if individual property owners represented by the associations did not sign lease contracts based on the agreements, Kip Petroff, a Dallas lawyer and a member of the group, said Friday.

"I'm saying that there are thousands of people who are part of these coalitions of homeowners who entered into these binding lease agreements ... and now they're [energy companies] trying to renege on them," Petroff said.

Agreements cited

As examples, he mentioned agreements that the Southwest Fort Worth Alliance, a group of approximately 25 neighborhood associations, reached for lease bonuses of $27,500 per acre and that the Southeast Arlington Coalition of Texas reached for $26,517 per acre.

Some deals were never implemented because energy companies declined to finalize lease contracts with individual property owners after natural gas prices fell in the latter half of 2008. Leasing and drilling in the Barnett Shale have plunged in the past year.

The litigation group has already sued in 160th State District Court in Dallas on behalf of Willie and Carmen Booth of Arlington, who say they were not paid a $4,932 lease bonus due them as a result of the agreement reached between the Southeast Arlington Coalition and representatives of companies involved in the Barnett drilling boom.

Multiple defendants

Numerous energy-related companies and individuals are named as defendants in the lawsuit, including such well-known Barnett gas exploration and production companies as XTO Energy, Chesapeake Energy and Quicksilver Resources.

Energy and leasing companies that negotiated with alliances of homeowner groups are expected to say in court that they were not bound to pay lease bonus checks unless they entered into binding lease contracts with individual property owners.

XTO, based in Fort Worth and named as a key defendant in the Booth lawsuit, said Friday that it generally does not comment on pending litigation.

Petroff said the litigation group hasn't "yet filed lawsuits in Fort Worth" but "most likely will."

He said some energy companies now offer bonuses of only $1,000 per acre but had offered $26,000-plus per acre.

The litigation group says on its Web site, www.ntxleaselitigation.com, that it is holding information sessions at 4, 5, 6 and 7 p.m. today and on Sept. 15 and Sept. 29 in the Cordovan Business Park, 5850 W. Interstate 20 in Arlington.

Countywide meeting

Petroff said the group plans a countywide meeting for property owners potentially interested in joining lawsuits against energy companies. The tentative date is Nov. 7, but the group hasn't determined a location, Petroff said.

Natural gas prices had soared to more than $13.50 per million British thermal units in July 2008 but since have declined dramatically. In futures trading Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gas for October delivery rose 22 cents to settle at $2.728 after falling to $2.409 earlier in the day.

In the Barnett, leasing has fallen to about one-eighth its peak level. Sixty-six rigs were drilling for gas Friday in the Barnett, according to RigData. The peak was 214 in October.

-----

To see more of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.star-telegram.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

BNTT, XTO, CHK, KWK,

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.