Yes, I have been, by Boomerang, LLC in Moore OK. Turned in Better Business Report, and that did no good. They still will not pay what they signed for and owe; supposedly because of a cloud on the Title.
You need an attorney to see if a quiet title suit is necessary.
Is there a cloud on your title? You say "supposedly" like your really not certain and have no idea? If there is a cloud then they didn't cheat you for non payment. Why would you go around to everyone saying they cheated you and turn them in to BBB without knowing for certain? What did the cloud consist of, what was the problem? Have you had title checked by anyone? Sounds like they found a major issue with title that is not a simple fix that something like an affidavit would clear up as they normally want your lease hence the reason why they spend their time and money to run title that found the cloud.
I would ask them to specify what the supposed cloud on title is, because for all they know you might actually be able to assist them clear that cloud. If they refuse to tell you, that's a pretty good sign that the supposed cloud on title is just an excuse for some other reason.
How about this one: My sister and I wanted to sell our mineral rights. We had already leased them to Gastar. When a purchaser wanted us to contact Gastar and do a probe on the property to see if everything was on the up and up, the Landman said our ownership of the mineral rights had been "zeroed." I'm still getting tax notices on the property.
You tell me, how in the hell does Gastar pay out $3,200 on leasing, supposedly ON MINERAL RIGHTS THAT HAVE VANISHED? We only leased to Gastar--we DID NOT sell them our mineral rights. Now they tell us we can't sell what we don't own.
OK, from what you stated I can see a scenario where everything makes sense. Gastar for some reason thinks you own some minerals, they lease your minerals, they pay you $3,200 bonus consideration, they put you into a drilling unit and report your ownership to the County Tax Assessor so that you can pay property taxes on your royalty stream whenever production starts. But THEN they figure out that they were wrong, either they did not perform a title search prior to leasing you OR they did so but made a mistake, the bottom line is that you do not own the minerals. If you believe that you DO own your minerals, ask them to show you why they believe that you do not. Ask them to show you the "chain of title" whereby one of the previous owners of your property severed, or "withdrew," the minerals from future conveyances with the surface estate. They are not obligated to share this information with you, but should do so as a show of good faith.
Thanks, Pete. Their answers to me were evasive. But from what he did tell me, he said that onc of the previous owners (a male) willed his estate to his wife. For some reason, the title got hung up there and did not proceed down the inheritance line legally. Does that make sense? I'm nearly positive they didn't perform a thorough search on the mineral rights ownership. It was only after the fact that a purchaser was interested and he told me to ask Gastar for a deep probe. There was no mention of severing or a withdrawal. Three other relatives were included in on the same lease agreement, bringing the total mineral rights bonus to $8,000. I'm just wondering how is it possible that Gastar made a mistake of that amount, if indeed we never owned the minerals to begin with? That has something to do with the severing or withdrawal?
Thanks for your help.
It's impossible for me to say what it has to do with without more facts. But from what you said the first time around, I thought maybe Gastar made a mistake on the mineral ownership and leased the wrong set of persons. Now that you mention there was a Will involved, I can think of another scenario in which Gastar did NOT make a mistake but circumstances changed the actual mineral ownership.
When somebody dies without a Will, he is said to have died "intestate." How do you figure out who inherits that person's Estate? You have to refer to a set of laws, different in each state, called the "laws of descent and distribution," sometimes less correctly called the "laws of intestacy." These laws will dictate exactly who can inherit in each State. When somebody dies WITH a Will AND it is taken to Probate Court and acted upon, then the Will determines who inherits that Estate. But there's a third possibility: what happens when somebody dies WITH a Will, but the Will is NOT taken to Court?
From my experience, every single one of my oil-and-gas clients would follow the laws of descent and distribution in that state to figure out who the mineral owners of record are and lease them. BUT, if there is a very significant sum of money involved with the bonus payments, they would insist that the Will be probated FIRST before actually paying any mineral owners. Why? Because as soon as that Will is filed, the mineral ownership is very likely to change as compared to the mineral ownership established by the laws of descent and distribution.
So another possible explanation for your scenario is that Gastar, willing to risk $8,000, which is not an outrageous amount of money for most oil-and-gas clients, went ahead and leased the persons who inherited under the laws of descent and distribution by "proceeding down the inheritance line legally," as you put it, but then the Wife of the Decedent went ahead and filed the Will in Court, thereby changing the legal ownership of those minerals. It's a complicated and unlikely explanation for your scenario, but certain a possible explanation.
BBX Claims that they paid us over 87000.00 over a period of over a year. Due to a case of mistaken identity. Haha! Now is still witholding our Other 6 wells production we legally leased in “Suspension” as repayment! Even after we filed Bankruptcy and they were a no show at any hearings! Asked trustee to sue them by return receipt letters. No… We paid Taxes to IRS on these monies and they WILL NOT PROVIDE ANY RECEIPT OR ACCOUNTING of what they have kept as now it is a loss! We can’t even file a amended return. Please help SOMEONE AMYONE!! roadstertitan1959@gmail.com
Thanks, Pete. You're very well-informed on the matter. I do believe one of your scenarios fit this situation. It is so complicated, that a layman like myself cannot fathom the circumstances under which we suddenly lost ownership of the mineral rights that were leased. In fact, when I asked the Gastar rep/landman about why such a turn-around on this matter, he replied "Well, things like that happen.
I think the basic conclusion is this: Gastar did not do a deep probe on the ownership records to determine if we Legally owned the mineral rights. It seems that they, in order to beat the rush to leasing the rights, neglected to protect themselves and bought first before investigation. It was a really foolish blunder.
You've been a great help. If you ever decide to publisher a book (for idiots like me) contact me, and I will, and my agent, answer any questions about literary law. I'm a published author of a dozen non-fiction and fiction books.
Chris
Forget about the Trustee suing them, YOU are going to have to sue them! But you need to read the fine print of your Lease, you might NOT be able to sue them. IF there was a clause in there called "Warranty of Title," then by signing the Lease you probably were guaranteeing to the oil-and-gas company that you DID own the minerals and agreeing not to sue them if that turned out not to be the case.
Yea! I really I think I know that! The reason I know there's no "cloud" is that I've been getting payments from another company for years- how could that be if there's a "cloud" on the title? That company years ago cleared up all that. Yes, I had someone offer to file an affidavit for me- I know that too. I'm getting out of this "form."
Sorry to inform you, but just because you have "been getting payments from another company for years" does not mean that you have title to the minerals, and it might mean that you have title to minerals underneath a different piece of land. People make mistakes, some of them last a long time.
Bette: Check out the title yourself or have a title researcher do it. Any cloud should be evident on the county records at the county seat where the well is located. It is not hard an if you do you wii have some proof to get them to pay. Jack