Mike, we also received the letter today. My take on it (opinion) follows.
There is one interesting sentence in Part II, second paragraph - “Defendent has also agreed to maintain these procedures and policies with respect to production on Class Wells for at least the next 7 years, …”. It seems these corporations reach these settlements to avoid having case law established if they were to lose the case in a judgement. By paying a pittance of 147 million, they can continue the “hand in the cookie jar” practices on all their many thousands of wells not in the Class Action case, and even with these Class Wells they can resume after the 7 years, as they wish. It is more profitable for them to make this payoff rather than abide by the leases they hold and the regulations and laws they have violated. I could say more about the concerted efforts of their lobbyists to prohibit all class action lawsuits, but I refrain.
I have never opted-out, and the payoffs have ranged from pennies to over a thousand dollars, but none of it is more than a fraction of what they have taken. There was a word we once used for taking something that does not belong to you! Again, just my opinion.