The Law Offices of Michael M. Mulder in Chicago, Illinois, represents groups of plaintiffs in the areas of oil and gas royalties, environmental torts, property damage and other areas. Our attorneys are highly experienced and have a record of success in complex litigation cases.
In the field of oil and gas law, we successfully represented a class of Montana landowners against Devon Energy Corporation, one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world (MLMOA v. Devon Energy Corp., No. CV-05-30-H-DWM (D. Mont.)). Plaintiffs alleged that Devon illegally withheld money from their monthly royalty payments. We settled the case, recovering millions of dollars in unpaid royalties for the class members.
After two years of active litigation, the parties, in recognition of the risk that existed for both plaintiffs and defendants, settled the matter on a classwide basis. The settlement approved by the court included: (1) a cash payment by Devon of $5,000,000 to the class (distributed on a pro rata basis) as compensation for past charges; (2) a promise that in the future, Devon will cease deducting charges for "gathering" or other operating costs from the class members' royalty checks and will limit its deductions to three charges (gathering compression fuel, regulated transportation costs and transportation compression fuel) that are specifically defined in the Settlement Agreement; and (3) a release by the class members of their claims against Devon.
In the area of tort law, we were co-lead counsel in a case against Amoco in which we represented a number of scientists who developed rare brain tumors and other cancers while working at the Amoco Research Center in Naperville, IL (Ngo v. Amoco Corporation, 98 CH 11393 (Circuit Court of Cook Co., Law Div.)).
We also represent a group of landowners in Montana who allege that their property on the shores of Flathead Lake is being damaged and eroded by the operation of Kerr Dam, which is owned by a large power company, PP&L. That case, Mattson v. Montana Power Company, No. 01-781 (Mont.), was certified as a class action and our firm obtained three settlements providing monetary recovery to the landowners as well as a change in the contested dam operation to decrease future property damage.
Contact Our Attorneys In Chicago, Illinois
The firm welcomes opportunities to build co-counsel relationships with other attorneys who seek a partner in these types of class cases. Please contact us to schedule a consultation with a lawyer to discuss potential cases involving royalties, environmental torts and other mass torts.
