Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by pam kurz on October 11, 2008 at 8:45

She didn't sign with anyone....however, her brother has met several times with a man named David Hall, agent with Divine Minerals. He drafted a deal with XTO for 10 family members in this pool (my mom is in this pool) She doesn't live in La. so info. is passed on via telephone by family members. However, she was told a contract would be sent to her in the mail to sign. What she received was not a contract but a letter from this man, David Hall. The letter stated:
"As many of you are aware, we have had our patience pushed to the limit with XTO's lack of progress in completing the leases that we agreed to. After several weeks of not getting any reply from XTO to our repeated requests for updates, we had conversations with them on Friday 26th and again on Monday 29th. Their position of being ready to meet with us this week was replaced with more delay tactics. We believe there is no other option available but to pursue a legal solution. XTO made a contract with us to lease your land and we believe they will do so, if and only if they are facing litigation. We have had very detailed discussions with multiple attorneys and are confident that Robert Thompson, with his expertise in contract law, can bring this matter to as prompt a resolution as possible. Please review his proposal and return it to us as soon as possible but no later than Thursday, October 2nd. If you have questions, please contact myself or Tag and we will continue our efforts to resolve this as soon as possible."
Two Dogs, the proposal is a fee agreement contract to employ the attorney, Robert Thompson. Why should we pay for the dispute......25%......shouldn't this be paid for by the broker who promised the deal?? Am I wrong in thinking.....why not go with another oil company and skip this litigation?
MY mother says she never signed anything with any broker. She said some of the people in the pool signed the attorney fee agreement and sent it in. Wondering how this all works.....since she hasn't agreed to anything, yet. Any suggestions?

Permalink Reply by Two Dogs, Pirate on October 11, 2008 at 9:04

Don't sign nothing. If you haven't signed a contract then there is nothing to hold you to. Every mineral owner that signs will be obligated, I am not an attorney but I would think that since your mother hasn't signed then she has no need to do any more. If she signs the letter then she agrees to let the attorney represent her and pay the charges he asks. If other mineral owners have signed then they have agreed to let the attorney handle the situation but that doesn't mean that everyone has to sign.

Permalink Reply by pam kurz on October 11, 2008 at 9:32

Two Dogs,
Some of the mineral owners have signed this fee agreement. Here's what concerns me:
" I specifically authorize Attorney to undertake negotiations and/or file suit or institute leegal proceedings necessary on my behalf. I further authorize Attorney to retain anad employ, AT MY EXPENSE. the services of any experts, as well as the services of other outside contractors, as Attorney deems necessary or expedient in representing my interests. I also authorize Attorney to retain and employ other attorneys with my prior knowledge and written consent;however, the combined fee of Attorney and all other attorneys shall be limited as set forth hereinbelow.
1. Attorneys Fees. As compensation for legal services, I agree to pay my Attorney as follows:
A. Contingency ___Yes
(Attorney shall receive the following percentage of the amount recovered before the deduction of costs and expenses as set forth in Section 2 herein)
25% of any gross primary term bonus consideration received. Option bonus consideration and royalty interest is excluded.
It is understood and agreed that this employmnet is upon a contingency fee basis; and if no recovery is made I will not be indebted to my Attorney for any sum whatsoever as Attorneys Fees.
There was not anything detailing set forth in a Section 2???
Also, read this:
Alternative Dispute Resolution.
In the event of any claim, dispute, of disagreement concerning this agreement or the services of the attorney I agree to submit to arbitration by the Louisiana State Bar Association Legal Fee Dispute Resolution Program.
Notice: By initialing in the space below, you are agreeing to have any dispute arising out of the matters included in the "Alternative Dispute Resolution" provision decided by neutral binding arbitration as provided by Louisiana Arbitration law; and you are GIVING UP YOUR RIGHT TO HAVE THE DISPUTE DECIDED IN A COURT OR JURY TRIAL. By initialing in the space below you are also GIVING UP YOUR RIGHTS TO DISCOVERY AND APPEAL. If you refuse to submit to arbitration after agreeing to this provision you may be compelled to arbitrate under the authority of the Louisiana Arbitration Law.

Also, there's a termination of representation clause stating:
"I understand that I have the right to terminate the representation upon written notice to that effect. I understand that I WILL BE RESPONSIBLE for any fees or costs incurred prior to the discharge or termination.

Sounds like you are signing away any of your rights to file suit against this attorney if he doesn't do squat and keeps the land tied up for years in litigation.....running up a bill.....which will eventually be taken out of money received from the oil company. In other words, they get a 25% of your bonus before the deduction of costs and expenses for their services. So, they way I look at it.....she can forget about getting any bonus money by the time the geologists get their 3%, ATTORNEYS (more than one attorney will bill you) get their 25%, broker gets their %. and the goverment gets their % in taxes.

What do you think??

Permalink Reply by msfva on October 11, 2008 at 6:42

Pam, Never sign anything you aren't comfortable with or don't understand. Get Dave Means, from Mansfield, or any of the other good attorneys around there, and ask for advice. A few hundred dollars is nothing, compared to the money your family will make on 500+ acres. Do it right.

Permalink Reply by pam kurz on October 11, 2008 at 6:58

The land is actually in Township 10 Range 10....looked on property tax records and the acreage is closer to 380 acres. I forgot my brother sold his land. Nonetheless, the broker/consultant firm negotiating the deal supposedly proposed a draft which was submitted and XTO has not responded. Now they want to pursue litigation to end the delay tactics. My concern is litigation could possibly drag on years.....preventing my mom from signing on with another interested party making an offer once the market picks up. Has anyone on the forum heard similar stories posted in the past? Is this typical tactics by oil companies? Do brokers typically ask you to pay for attorneys to force the deal? I'm thinking the family should consult an oil and gas attorney or sit tight? Sounds like alot of money going to an attorney.....25% of any gross primary term bonus received. Hmmmmmmmmm......what do you guys think?????

Permalink Reply by msfva on October 11, 2008 at 8:21

Pam, Have you talked with the other mineral owners, to see what their take on this is? Maybe one of them is pushing this?? I'd try to see if one of them knows more than you do about this. I also would suggest that this broker sit down, and fully explain to you what this 25% fee is. No one is paying 25% to anyone in Haynesville Shale for services of any type (at least that I've heard of). Be very careful.

Permalink Reply by pam kurz on October 11, 2008 at 9:23

Msfva,
Some of the mineral owners have signed this fee agreement. Here's what concerns me:
" I specifically authorize Attorney to undertake negotiations and/or file suit or institute leegal proceedings necessary on my behalf. I further authorize Attorney to retain anad employ, AT MY EXPENSE. the services of any experts, as well as the services of other outside contractors, as Attorney deems necessary or expedient in representing my interests. I also authorize Attorney to tretain and employ other attornes with my prior knowledge and written consent;however, the combined fee of Attorney and all other attorneys shall be limited as set forth hereinbelow.
1. Attorneys Fees. As compensation for legal services, I agree to pay my Attorney as follows:
A. Contingency ___Yes
(Attorney shall receive the following percentage of the amount recovered before the deduction of costs and expenses as set forth in Section 2 herein)
25% of any gross primary term bonus consideration received. Option bonus consideration and royalty interest is excluded.
It is understood and agreed that this employmnet is upon a contingency fee basis; and if no recovery is made I will not be indebted to my Attorney for any sum whatsoever as Attorneys Fees.
There was not anything detailing set forth in a Section 2???
Also, read this:
Alternative Dispute Resolution.
In the event of any claim, dispute, of disagreement concerning this agreement or the services of the attorney I agree to submit to arbitration by the Louisiana State Bar Association Legal Fee Dispute Resolution Program.
Notice: By initialing in the space below, you are agreeing to have any dispute arising out of the matters included in the "Alternative Dispute Resolution" provision decided by neutral binding arbitration as provided by Louisiana Arbitration law; and you are GIVING UP YOUR RIGHT TO HAVE THE DISPUTE DECIDED IN A COURT OR JURY TRIAL. By initialing in the space below you are also GIVING UP YOUR RIGHTS TO DISCOVERY AND APPEAL. If you refuse to submit to arbitration after agreeing to this provision you may be compelled to arbitrate under the authority of the Louisiana Arbitration Law.

Also, there's a termination of representation clause stating:
"I understand that I have the right to terminate the representation upon written notice to that effect. I understand that I WILL BE RESPONSIBLE for any fees or costs incurred prior to the discharge or termination.

Sounds like you are signing away any of your rights to file suit against this attorney if he doesn't do squat and keeps the land tied up for years in litigation.....running up a bill.....which will eventually be taken out of money received from the oil company. In other words, they get a 25% of your bonus before the deduction of costs and expenses for their services. So, they way I look at it.....she can forget about getting any bonus money by the time the geologists get their 3%, ATTORNEYS (more than one attorney will bill you) get their 25%, broker gets their %. and the goverment gets their % in taxes.

What do you think??

Permalink Reply by Two Dogs, Pirate on October 11, 2008 at 12:14

Sounds like you hired a lawyer.

Permalink Reply by pam kurz on October 11, 2008 at 16:24

No.....my mom didn't hire one.....but chances are some of her siblings did for their portion of land.

Permalink Reply by msfva on October 11, 2008 at 12:42

Pam, What do I think? I think I'm way out of my league advising you on this one. I don't know all the details of what has happenned, but it does not sound good to me. I've never seen anything like this discussed on this site before.
I would recommend you get good legal advice here -- there are many good attorneys around Sabine Parish. Many have been mentioned on this site: Dave Means in Mansfield, Murchison in Natchitoches, and Randall Davidson in Shreveport. (Many others are out there too.) This sounds too complicated, and possibly too expensive, to leap into, without a good legal counsel.
One more thought... Are the landowners or the broker pushing for this litigation? Maybe I missed it, but the broker isn't putting up anything here, is he? In other words, he only stands to gain, if litigation goes forward? Right? So, who is pushing this litigation?
Good luck.

Permalink Reply by msfva on October 11, 2008 at 13:09

Pam,
Your question might find get better answers if it had a wider audience. Why don't you consider posting your story on the main board, and then all will see it, and not just those who look in Sabine Parish? Maybe someone else can provide a more knowledgable answer. Try to lay out your story as clearly as possible, with all necessary detail in your post, so people will fully understand your problem. Good luck.

Permalink Reply by pam kurz on October 11, 2008 at 16:23

Thanks for all your input. I'll try to post the story in more detail on the main board....hopefully have time in the next day or two. I'll need to contact my uncle in Shreveport to get more answers. Thanks again!

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