Triad Royalty Class Action Settlement

The complete class definition

The complete legal definition of the Settlement Class is set forth in the Order Granting Motion for Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement dated September 30, 2026, which preliminarily approved the class settlement.

Paragraph 1 of the Order reads as follows:

1. Class Certification for Settlement Purposes Only. For settlement purposes only and pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 23, the Court conditionally certifies the Settlement Class in this matter, defined as follows:

The Settlement Class includes

• all the class members, including their affiliates, predecessors, and successors-in-interest, and any other persons who are, or were, lessors to a Class Lease and/or owners of a royalty interest subject to a Class Lease and received royalty payments from Defendants during the period from May 6, 2016 through the Effective Date, according to the business records maintained by Expand Appalachia LLC.
• any person or entity who inherited or purchased the right to receive accrued, unpaid, or underpaid royalties related to the above-referenced royalty payments.

The Settlement Class excludes

• (a)Any person or entity whose lease has any addendum, amendment, and/or settlement language that amends or alters the Triad Royalty Language;
• (b)Any person or entity whose royalty underpayment claim against Defendants is subject to a binding arbitration provision, a venue provision requiring suit to be brought outside of West Virginia, or a choice of law provision requiring the application of substantive law of any state other than West Virginia;
• (c)Expand to the extent of any mineral ownership or royalty paid under the Class Leases;
• (d)Any oil and gas interest owned by any federal, state, or municipal governmental entity;
• (e)Agencies, departments, or instrumentalities of the United States of America;
• (f)Publicly traded oil and gas exploration companies and their affiliates;
• (g)Any owner of a working interest.

“Class Lease” and “Triad Royalty Language” are defined in the Class Action Settlement Agreement, available on the documents page.