You were sent the Notice because you may be a member of the Settlement Class in the Litigation. Payment history records reflect that you have received payments from Defendant (or someone paying proceeds on Defendant’s behalf) for oil and gas production proceeds from oil and gas wells in Oklahoma during the Claim Period (as defined in the Settlement Agreement and in FAQ 12). The Notice is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, an expression of any opinion with respect to the merits of the allegations in the Petition filed in the Litigation. The Notice explains the claims being asserted in the Litigation, explains the Settlement, explains your right to remain a member of the Settlement Class (see FAQ 12), explains your right to opt out of the Settlement Class and be excluded from the Settlement (see FAQ 13), and explains your right to object to the Settlement (see FAQ 18).

The Court caused the Notice to be sent to you because, if you fall within this group and are not otherwise excluded from the Settlement Class, your rights were affected and you had a right to know about the Settlement, and about all of your options, before the Court decided whether to approve the Settlement.

The Notice package describes the Litigation, the Settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who is eligible for them, and how to get them.

The Court in charge of this Litigation is the District Court of Blaine County, State of Oklahoma. The individuals prosecuting this Litigation on behalf of the Class are called the “Plaintiffs” and the company they are suing is called the “Defendant.” This case, also called the “Litigation,” is known as DDL Oil & Gas, LLC et al. v. Diversified Production, LLC, successor by merger with Tapstone Energy, LLC, Case No. CJ-2019-17.

The Litigation sought damages for Defendant’s alleged failure to pay statutory interest on payments made by Defendant (or on Defendant’s behalf) outside the time periods set forth in the Production Revenue Standards Act, Okla. Stat. tit. 52 sect; 570.1, et seq. (the “PRSA”) for oil and gas production proceeds from oil and gas wells in Oklahoma.

Defendant denies any and all liability related to Plaintiffs’ allegations and further states that neither Plaintiffs nor any of the Class Members are entitled to the relief sought in the Litigation and further states that it would not be appropriate to award any type of damages to the Class Members.

A more complete description of the Litigation, its status, and the rulings made in the Litigation are available in the pleadings and other papers maintained by the District Court of Blaine County, State of Oklahoma, 212 N Weigle Ave, Watonga, OK 73772, in the file for Case No. CJ-2019-17. Some of the relevant pleadings are additionally located at the Important Documents page. Should you have questions regarding the status, rulings or issues in the Litigation, such questions can be submitted as set forth in FAQ 25.

In a class action, one or more plaintiffs sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of the individuals and entities on whose behalf the plaintiffs are suing are class members. One court resolves the issues for all class members, except for those who choose to exclude themselves from the class. Here, Blaine County District Judge Allison Lafferty, is presiding over the Litigation.

The Court has not reached a final judgment as to whether Plaintiffs have proved or can prove their claims against Defendant. It could take several more years before a trial on the merits could be held, final judgment entered, and appeals exhausted. Instead, Plaintiffs and Defendant have agreed to the Settlement in order to resolve the Litigation. In reaching the Settlement, both sides have avoided the risk, cost and time of a trial, and Plaintiffs have avoided any further delay in resolving the Litigation. In addition, as with any litigated case, Plaintiffs would face an uncertain outcome if this Litigation went to trial. On the one hand, a trial could result in a verdict greater than the Settlement. However, Defendant has asserted many defenses, and a trial could result in a judgment in favor of Defendant on liability or a verdict lower than the Settlement Amount that Plaintiffs have obtained, or even no recovery at all for Plaintiffs and the Class Members. Based on these factors and others, Plaintiffs and Class Counsel believe the Settlement is best for all Class Members.

The Settlement Class consists of the following individuals and entities, subject to the exceptions listed in FAQ 6:

All non‑excluded persons or entities who received or, during the pendency of this action will receive, Untimely Payments from Defendant for O&G Proceeds from Oklahoma Wells and whose payments did not also include statutory interest prescribed by the Act.

The persons or entities excluded from the Settlement Class are: (1) agencies, departments, or instrumentalities of the United States of America and the State of Oklahoma, including but not limited to the U.S. Department of the Interior (the United States, Indian tribes as defined at 30 U.S.C. §1702(4), and Indian allottees as defined at 30 U.S.C. §1702(2)); (2) Commissioners of the Land Office of the State of Oklahoma (CLO); (3) publicly traded oil and gas companies and their affiliates; (4) persons or entities (and their affiliates) who are the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) designated operator (and as reflected on Drilling Info, Inc., doing business as Enverus, data reports) of more than fifty (50) Oklahoma wells in the month when this Class definition was originally filed; (5) persons or entities that Plaintiffs’ counsel may be prohibited from representing under Rule 1.7 of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct; (6) officers of the court; and (7) Owners in regard to whom Defendant is required by the Act to pay O&G Proceeds annually for the 12 months accumulation of O&G Proceeds totaling less than $100.00, provided, however this exclusion of so-called “minimum pay” Owners does not apply to interest claims for other 12 month periods accumulation of O&G Proceeds when the same Owner was entitled to $100 or more and thus not in a “minimum pay” status.

Also, you are not a Class Member if you excluded yourself from the Settlement Class by submitting a valid and timely request for exclusion in accordance with the requirements set forth in the Notice and in the Settlement Agreement.

If you are still not sure whether you are included, you can ask for help, which will be provided to you at no cost. You can call the Settlement Administrator at 1-866-848-0795, or write to the following address:

DDL Oil & Gas, LLC, et al. V Diversified Production, LLC
successor by merger with Tapstone Energey, LLC
c/o JND Legal Administration
PO Box 91205
Seattle, WA 98111

In consideration of the Settlement, Defendant paid $1,850,000.00 in cash. See the Settlement Agreement for full details.

The Settlement resulted in the dismissal of the Complaint against Defendant and the release by all Class Members of all the Released Claims the Releasing Parties have or may have against the Released Parties, as defined in FAQ 12. The Net Settlement Fund was distributed to the Class Members who are not excluded from the Settlement Class in accordance with the provisions of the Allocation Methodology and Final Plan of Allocation, which is explained in FAQ 9.

The Net Settlement Fund was allocated to Class Members on the following basis:

Plaintiffs’ Counsel's allocated the Net Settlement Fund to individual Participating Class Members proportionately based on the amount of statutory interest allegedly owed on the original underlying payment that allegedly occurred outside the time periods required by the PRSA, with due regard for the production date, the date the underlying payment was made, the amount of the underlying payment, the time periods set forth in the PRSA, any additional statutory interest that Plaintiffs’ Counsel believed has since accrued, and the amount of interest or returns that had accrued on the Participating Class Member’s proportionate share of the Net Settlement Fund during the time such share was held in the Settlement Account.

If you have questions about the tax consequences of participating in the Settlement, you should consult with your own tax advisor.

If you did not exclude yourself, YOU DID NOT NEED TO TAKE ANY ACTION WHATSOEVER to receive your portion of the Net Settlement Fund (if any).

The Settlement Administrator began issuing Distribution Checks to eligible Class Members on January 16, 2024.

Unless you excluded yourself from the Settlement Class, you are be a Participating Class Member. As a Participating Class Member, you were sent any portion of the Net Settlement Fund allocated to you and are bound by all orders and judgments entered by the Court regarding the Settlement. You will not be able to sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against any of the Released Parties concerning any of the Released Claims.

The deadline to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class has passed. To exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you had to send by mail, to the Settlement Administrator a written statement that you want to be excluded from the Settlement Class in DDL Oil & Gas, LLC, et al. v. Diversified Production, LLC, successor by merger with Tapstone Energy, LLC. Your statement had to be received by the Settlement Administrator by no later than September 5, 2023, at 5 p.m. CT.

If you validly requested exclusion, you were not able to object to the Settlement, and you have not released any claim against the Released Parties. You are not legally bound by anything that happens in the Litigation. You also did not participate in any distribution of the Net Settlement Fund.

No. Unless you excluded yourself from the Settlement Class in connection with the Litigation, you (and any other Releasing Parties) gave up any right to sue any or all of the Released Parties for any Released Claims. If you have a pending lawsuit or arbitration against Defendant or any of its officers and/or directors or any other Released Parties, speak to the lawyer representing you in that case immediately. You had to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class to continue your own lawsuit or arbitration against any of the Released Parties.

No. If you excluded yourself from the Settlement Class, you may be able to sue, continue to sue, or be part of a different lawsuit or arbitration against the Released Parties, but you did not receive any money from the Settlement discussed in the Notice.

The law firms of (a) Nix Patterson, LLP, (b) Ryan Whaley Coldiron Jantzen Peters & Webber PLLC, (c) Whitten Burrage, and (d) Barnes & Lewis, LLP represent Plaintiffs and all other Class Members in this Litigation. These lawyers are called Class Counsel. You will not be charged directly by these lawyers. With the Court's approval, these lawyers were paid in accordance with FAQ 17. If you wanted to be represented by your own lawyer, you could have hired one at your own expense.

Class Counsel sought an award of attorneys’ fees not to exceed 40% of the Gross Settlement Fund. Class Counsel litigated this case for nearly four (4) years without any payment whatsoever. At the Final Fairness Hearing, Class Counsel also sought reimbursement from the Gross Settlement Fund of the Litigation Expenses incurred in connection with the prosecution of this Litigation, and also sought Administration, Notice, and Distribution Costs, incurred through final distribution of the Settlement. Plaintiffs sought a Case Contribution Award relating to their representation of the Settlement Class, taking into account Plaintiffs’ time, effort, risk and burden.

The deadline to object to the Settlement Class has passed. If you are a Class Member and you did not exclude yourself, you were able to object to the Settlement if you did not like any part of it. you had to file a written statement with the Court saying that you object to the proposed Settlement. Your written objection had to be filed with the Court no later than September 5, 2023.

Objecting is simply telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object only if you are a Participating Class Member. Excluding yourself is telling the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement Class. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you have no basis to object, because the Settlement no longer affects you. If you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you will remain a member of the Settlement Class and will be bound by the terms of the Settlement Agreement (including the release contained therein) and all orders and judgments entered by the Court regarding the Settlement regardless of whether the Court accepts or denies your objection.

The Court held a Final Fairness Hearing on September 18, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. CT, at the District Court of Blaine County, State of Oklahoma, 212 N Weigle Ave, Watonga, OK 73772. At this hearing, the Court considered whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court also considered any objections at that time. After the Final Fairness Hearing, the Court approved the Settlement, the Allocation Methodology, and the Initial Plan of Allocation. The Court also approved the request for attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses by Class Counsel and the request for Case Contribution Award for Plaintiffs relating to their representation of the Settlement Class. Copies of the Court's orders are available at the Important Documents page.

No. Class Counsel answered any questions the Court had for the Settlement Class. But you were welcome to come at your own expense. If you timely and properly file and serve an objection (see FAQ 18), you did not have to come to Court to talk about it. As long as you properly filed and served your written objection on time, it was before the Court when the Court considered whether to approve the Settlement as fair, reasonable, and adequate. You also could have paid your own lawyer to attend the Final Fairness Hearing, but attendance was not necessary. However, if you failed to timely and properly file and serve an objection, you were not entitled to be heard at the Final Fairness Hearing regarding any objections.

If you are a Class Member who did not request to be excluded from the Settlement Class, you could have asked the Court for permission to speak at the Final Fairness Hearing.. If you wished to speak at the Final Fairness Hearing, your request had to be included in your objection and filed with the Court no later than September 5, 2023, at 5 p.m. CT. You could not have spoken at the Final Fairness Hearing if you excluded yourself from the Settlement Class.

If you did nothing and you are a Class Member, you were sent payment in connection with the Settlement as explained in FAQ 9 if you are entitled to a distribution pursuant to the Allocation Methodology and Final Plan of Allocation, and you are bound by the Settlement. Unless you excluded yourself from the Settlement Class, neither you nor any other Releasing Party are able to start a lawsuit or arbitration, continue a lawsuit or arbitration, or be part of any other lawsuit or arbitration against any of the Released Parties based on any Released Claims.

The Notice summarizes the Settlement. The complete terms of the Settlement are set out in the Settlement Agreement and the documents referenced therein and attached thereto. You may obtain a copy of the Settlement Agreement, as well as other documents, from the Important Documents page or you may request copies by writing to DDL Oil & Gas‑Tapstone Energy Settlement, c/o JND Legal Administration, Settlement Administrator, PO Box 91205, Seattle, WA 98111. If you elect to obtain copies from a source other than the free website, there may be a charge to you for copying and mailing such documents. The Settlement Agreement also is filed in DDL Oil & Gas, LLC et al. v. Diversified Production, LLC, successor by merger with Tapstone Energy, LLC, Case No. CJ‑2019‑17, with the Clerk of the Court for the District Court of Blaine County, State of Oklahoma, 212 N Weigle Ave, Watonga, OK 73772, and may be obtained from the Clerk’s office directly. Further information regarding the Litigation and the Notice may be obtained by contacting Class Counsel at the address provided in FAQ 18.

All inquiries concerning the notice or any other questions by Class Members should be directed to the Settlement Administrator as follows:

DDL Oil & Gas‑Tapstone Energy Settlement
c/o JND Legal Administration, Settlement Administrator
PO Box 91205
Seattle, WA 98111

Toll Free: 1‑866‑848‑0795

Email: info@ddl‑tapstone.com

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT REGARDING THE NOTICE.