Butler County

In March, MDN told you that Butler County landowners were appealing after a federal judge tossed their royalty class action against XTO Energy (see Landowners Appeal Dismissal of XTO Lawsuit re Royalties in W. Pa.). That appeal is now on hold — because on Aug. 6, the same judge wiped out his own judgment and declared it void. And the party that asked him to do it was XTO, which won the case. Read More “XTO Wins PA Royalty Case, Then Asks Judge to Undo the Judgment”

A federal magistrate judge has excluded six people (well, five leases covering six people and one municipal authority) from the 2,300-plus-member class suing XTO Energy over royalty underpayments in Butler County — not because XTO won a big legal fight, but because both sides agreed these particular leases require arbitration, not a courtroom. This is the latest chapter in Kriley v. XTO Energy Inc., the six-year-old Butler County royalty case MDN has followed since February (see Long-running Lawsuit Against XTO Energy Over Royalties in W. Pa.) and again in June (see XTO Energy Looks to Compel Arbitration in W. Pa. Royalties Case). Read More “6 Landowners Sent to Arbitration in XTO Butler Co. Royalty Suit”

In February, MDN told you about the Kriley v. XTO Energy lawsuit (see Long-running Lawsuit Against XTO Energy Over Royalties in W. Pa.). The lawsuit began in 2019 and involves seven landowners in Butler County, PA. The landowners claim that XTO Energy (a subsidiary of ExxonMobil) systematically underpaid natural gas royalties. Over the past six years, the lawsuit has evolved and was certified as a class action in late 2025, meaning it has expanded from affecting 7 landowners to over 2,000. XTO is trying to reduce that number significantly by demanding that leases with an arbitration provision be sent to individual arbitration and excluded from the larger class action. Read More “XTO Energy Looks to Compel Arbitration in W. Pa. Royalties Case”