Frequently Asked Questions

This Notice is being provided to potential class members who, between November 1, 2017 through October 19, 2020, may have owned unleased oil and gas minerals located in Eastern Laramie County, Wyoming within the Niobrara and/or Codell geologic formations under, in, or on lands that have Class Minerals as defined in this Notice.  If you have Class Minerals, your legal rights may be affected by the antitrust class action lawsuit, Deselms et al. v. Occidental Petroleum Corporation et al., Case No. 19-CV-0243-F filed in the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming (the “Lawsuit”).

The Lawsuit may be of benefit to you.

Your options are explained in this Notice. Please review it carefully.

NOTE: This Notice is not an expression of any opinion by the Court as to the merits of any claims  or defenses asserted by any party in the Lawsuit. The Court has made no ruling on who will win the  Lawsuit.

In 2019, the Plaintiffs, a group of mineral owners in Eastern Laramie County, filed antitrust claims against Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC, Anadarko Land Corp., and Anadarko Oil & Gas 5 LLC (collectively “the Anadarko Defendants” or “Anadarko”) on behalf of similarly situated mineral owners. The Lawsuit alleged that Anadarko the single largest non-governmental owner of minerals in Laramie County, and that the Anadarko Defendants devised an anticompetitive scheme to give themselves maximum economic benefit, to the disadvantage of neighboring mineral owners and competitors who, because of the scheme, could not lease their minerals.  The Lawsuit alleged that, as part of the anticompetitive scheme, Anadarko Land Corp. would lease its minerals to one of the related Anadarko Defendants with a 30% royalty.  The lawsuit alleged that the leases were made by Anadarko Land Corp. to E&P Onshore, Gas 1, and Gas 5---all of which were owned by Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (“Intracompany Lease”).  In the Lawsuit, the Plaintiffs alleged Anadarko’s anticompetitive scheme delayed development of minerals belonging to the Plaintiffs and similarly situated mineral owners in order to preserve Anadarko’s anticompetitive advantage in obtaining leases of non-Anadarko minerals at lower lease costs and lower royalty rates, negatively impacting the Plaintiffs and similarly situated mineral owners. 

Anadarko denies any wrongdoing. The Court has not ruled on the merits of the   claims or defenses.

Under Federal Civil Procedure Rule 23(c)(4), United States District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal entered an Order certifying a liability class with respect to Federal and State liability issues (antitrust violation and antitrust impact) against Anadarko.  The class includes owners who owned or had an ownership interest in unleased minerals located in Laramie County, as defined in Section IV below.  Judge Freudenthal did not certify a class action for damages at that time, though her decision does not preclude her from doing so later in the Lawsuit.

In a class action lawsuit, one or more persons called “Class Representatives” sue on  behalf of other people (“Class Members”) who have similar claims against the same  defendants.

You are a member of the Class if you owned or had an ownership interest in Class Minerals during the Class Period in, on, and under the lands having Class Minerals as defined below. 

Class Minerals are defined as:

Oil and gas minerals, as shown by the public records of the Clerk and Recorder of Laramie County, Wyoming, that were: (a) not  under an oil and gas lease to drill and operate wells during the Class Period; (b) were located in the Niobrara and/or Codell geologic formations in Laramie County, Wyoming, east of the eastern boundary of Range 67W having oil and gas pools that could be reasonably producedproducted as demonstrated by the industry’s filing of drilling and spacing applications or applications for drilling permits in at least 50% of the sections in the relevant township; and (c) located either:

1. Within a section that had a 30% royalty Intracompany Lease covering at least 50% of the oil and gas minerals, provided the Intracompany Lease or memorandum of the Intracompany Lease was filed in the Laramie County public records disclosing the royalty rate, or
2. In a section (or a part thereof) immediately bounded to the north, south, or both by a section in which the Anadarko Defendants had a 30% royalty Intracompany Lease as set forth in subparagraph 1.

Class Period is defined as the time between November 1, 2017 and continuing through October 19, 2020.

You are not a member of the Class if you are an owner who:

1. Is one of the Anadarko Defendants;
2. Is an officer, director, or employee of one of the Anadarko Defendants;
3. Is an entity in which one of the Anadarko Defendants has a controlling interest or is an affiliate;
4. Is an entity controlled by a buyer of Anadarko Defendants' leases or minerals, including Cowboy Land LLC, Sweetwater Trona HoldCo LLC, and any other affiliate of Orion Mine Finance Group;
5. Has given a valid release concerning the claims asserted in this lawsuit;
6. Was a lessee of Class Minerals during the Class Period; or 
7. Is an affiliate of the Court.

If you are unsure whether you are included in the Class, you can get free help by calling or writing the Class Counsel as explained in Question 9.

The Class is being pursued under federal law and state law, and, at this time, has this primary purpose:

Liability: to determine whether one or all of the Anadarko Defendants have Federal and/or State liability (antitrust violation and antitrust impact) as to the Class. 

If the Court does not certify a damage class but it is found that Anadarko is liable for antitrust violation and antitrust impact, then each Class Member may seek relief in subsequent proceedings for the harm caused to them by Anadarko’s unlawful practices. This individual relief may include monetary relief. 

If the Court does certify a damage class, the Class Members will be given appropriate notice of the Court’s decision.  Should the Court certify a damage class and it is found that Anadarko is liable for antitrust violation and antitrust impact, then the Class will seek relief for the harm caused to the Class by Anadarko’s unlawful practices.  The Class damage claims would include monetary relief.

You may participate in the Class or opt out of the Class. 

If you are in the Class as defined in Question 4 above, and you decide to participate, you do not need to do anything and will remain a member of the Class.  You will be represented by the Class Representatives (identified in Question 8) and the Class Counsel lawyers (identified in Question 9), who will make decisions and agreements on your behalf concerning the Lawsuit.  Decisions made and agreements entered into by the Class Representatives will be binding on you throughout the Lawsuit. Further, if Class Representatives prevail in establishing the Anadarko Defendants’ liability for antitrust violations and antitrust impact, you may participate in further proceedings to separately determine your damages.  If you stay in the Class, you will give up any rights to sue the Anadarko Defendants separately about the same liability claims in the lawsuit.

You may opt out of the liability Class. If you wish to opt out or exclude yourself from the Class, you must act promptly and submit a Request for Exclusion to the Notice Manager that is received no later than November 4, 2023.

The Request for Exclusion must contain:

1. The name of this lawsuit, Deselms, et al. v. Occidental Petroleum Corporation, et al., Case No. 19-CR-0243-F
2. Your name
3. Your address; and
4. A statement that you wish to opt out or exclude yourself from the Class.

You must submit the Request for Exclusion via email to classmembership@occidentalclassaction or via mail to the Notice Manager at:

Signal Interactive Media, LLC
P.O. Box 1048
Cheyenne, WY 82003

The Court has appointed the following as Class Representatives: Anita C. Deselms, John C. Eklund, Jr., Justin W. Miller, Brandi J. Miller, Ron Rabou, and Russell I. Williams, Jr. (“Class Representatives”). The Class Representatives were involved in bringing the original lawsuit because they believed the Defendants had acted unlawfully. The Class Representatives must adequately and fairly represent the Class Members and must consider the interests of the Class Members just as that Class Representative would consider her or his own interests.