The Litigation seeks damages for Defendants' alleged failure to pay statutory interest on allegedly late payments under Oklahoma law. Defendants expressly deny all allegations of wrongdoing or liability with respect to the claims and allegations in the Litigation but have agreed to the proposed Settlement to avoid the uncertainty, burden, and expense of continued litigation. The Court has made no determination with respect to the merits of any of the parties’ claims or defenses. 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 United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma in the file for the Litigation.

The Settlement Class in the Litigation consists of the following individuals and entities:

All non‑excluded persons or entities who: (1) received late payments under the PRSA from Defendants (or Defendants’ designee) for oil and gas proceeds from Oklahoma wells, or whose proceeds from Oklahoma wells were sent as unclaimed property to a government entity by Defendants; and (2) whose proceeds did not include the statutory interest required by the PRSA.

Excluded from the Class are: (1) Defendants, their affiliates, predecessors, and employees, officers, and directors; and (2) agencies, departments, or instrumentalities of the United States of America or the State of Oklahoma; (3) any Indian Tribe as defined at 30 U.S.C. § 1702(4) or Indian allotee as defined at 30 U.S.C. § 1702(2); (4) persons or entities that Plaintiff’s counsel may be prohibited from representing under Rule 1.7 of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct; (5) publicly traded companies; and (6) XTO Energy Inc, SK Nemaha, LLC, Ovintiv Mid‑Continent Inc, Hinkle Oil & Gas Inc., White Star Petroleum Holdings, LLC, Continental Resources Inc, Unit Petroleum Company, Staghorn Petroleum II, LLC, Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C., Canvas Energy LLC, Contango Resources LLC, BCE‑Mach III LLC, and Shiloh Oil Corporation.

The Claim Period means checks or payments made or issued by Mustang Gas dated between September 28, 2017, through January 28, 2024, or from Mustang Fuel dated between September 28, 2017, through December 28, 2023, subject to the terms of the Settlement Agreement regarding Released Claims. If you are unsure whether you are included in the Settlement Class, you may contact the Settlement Administrator.

On May 30, 2024, the Court preliminarily approved a Settlement in the Litigation between Plaintiff, on behalf of itself and the Settlement Class, and Defendants. This approval and the Notice are not an expression of opinion by the Court as to the merits of any of the claims or defenses asserted by any of the parties to the Litigation, or of whether the Court will ultimately approve the Settlement Agreement.

In settlement of all claims alleged in the Litigation, Defendants have agreed to pay Two Million One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($2,100,000.00) in cash (“Gross Settlement Fund”). In exchange for this payment and other consideration outlined in the Settlement Agreement, the Settlement Class shall release the Released Claims (as defined in the Settlement Agreement) against the Released Parties (as defined in the Settlement Agreement). The Gross Settlement Fund, less Plaintiff’s Attorneys’ Fees and Litigation Expenses and Administration, Notice, and Distribution Costs, Case Contribution Award, and any other costs approved by the Court (the “Net Settlement Fund”), will be distributed to final Class Members pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement also includes Future Benefits for the Settlement Class.

Class Counsel intends to seek an award of Plaintiff’s Attorneys’ Fees of not more than 40% of the Gross Settlement Fund. Co‑Lead Class Counsel Randy C. Smith of Randy Smith & Associates and Brady L. Smith and Harry “Skeeter” Jordan of Brady Smith Law, PLLC have been litigating this case without any payment whatsoever, advancing thousands of dollars in expenses. At the Final Fairness Hearing, Plaintiff’s Counsel will also seek reimbursement of the litigation and administration expenses incurred in connection with the prosecution of this Litigation and that will be incurred through final distribution of the Settlement, which is estimated to be approximately $350,000.00. In addition, Plaintiff intends to seek a case contribution award for its representation of the Class, which amount will not exceed 2% of the gross settlement fund, to compensate Plaintiff for its time, expense, risk, and burden as serving as Class Representative.

The Court must approve the Allocation Methodology, which describes how the Settlement Administrator will allocate the Net Settlement Fund. The Net Settlement Fund will be distributed by the Settlement Administrator after the Effective Date of the Settlement. The Effective Date requires the exhaustion of any appeals, which may take a year or more after the entry of Judgment. The Settlement may be terminated on several grounds, including if the Court does not approve or materially modifies the terms of the Settlement. If the Settlement is terminated, the Litigation will proceed as if the Settlement had not been reached.

The Notice does not and cannot set out all the terms of the Settlement Agreement which is available for review at the Important Documents page. The Important Documents page will eventually include the Notice, the Plan of Allocation, and Plaintiff’s Counsel’s application for Plaintiff’s Attorneys’ Fees and Litigation Expenses and other costs. You may also receive information about the progress of the Settlement by visiting the Home page, or by contacting the Settlement Administrator.

The Final Fairness Hearing will be held on January 8, 2025, beginning at 10:30 a.m., before Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, 101 North 5th Street, Muskogee, Oklahoma 74402. Please note that the date of the Fairness Hearing is subject to change without further notice. You should check with the Court and the Home page to confirm no change to the date and time of the hearing has been made. At the Fairness Hearing, the Court will consider: (a) whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate; (b) any timely and properly raised objections to the Settlement; (c) the Allocation Methodology; (d) the application for Plaintiff’s Attorneys’ Fees and Litigation Expenses and Administration, Notice, and Distribution Costs; and (e) the application for the Case Contribution Award for the Class Representative.

A CLASS MEMBER WHO WISHES TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SETTLEMENT AND DOES NOT SUBMIT A VALID REQUEST FOR EXCLUSION DOES NOT NEED TO APPEAR AT THE FINAL FAIRNESS HEARING OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SETTLEMENT.

By taking no action, your interests will be represented by Plaintiff as the Class Representative and Plaintiff’s Counsel. As a Class Member, you will be bound by the outcome of the Settlement, if finally approved by the Court. The Class Representative and Plaintiff’s Counsel believe that the Settlement is in the best interest of the Class, and, therefore, they intend to support the proposed Settlement at the Final Fairness Hearing. As a Class Member, if you are entitled to a distribution pursuant to the Allocation Methodology, you will receive your portion of the Net Settlement Fund, and you will be bound by the Settlement Agreement and all orders and judgments entered by the Court regarding the Settlement. If the Settlement is approved, unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, neither you nor any other Releasing Party will be able to start a lawsuit or arbitration, continue a lawsuit or arbitration, or be part of any other lawsuit against any of the Released Parties based on any of the Released Claims.

The deadline to request exclusion from the Settlement Class has passed. If you did not wish to be a member of the Settlement Class, then you had to mail a Request for Exclusion by certified mail, return receipt requested and received no later than 5 p.m. CT by September 11, 2024, as follows:

If you did not follow these procedures—including mailing the Request for Exclusion so that it was received by the deadline set out above—you will not be excluded from the Settlement Class, and you will be bound by all of the orders and judgments entered by the Court regarding the Settlement, including the release of claims. You had to request exclusion even if you already had a pending case against any of the Released Parties based upon any Released Claims during the Claim Period. You were not able to exclude yourself on the website, by telephone, facsimile, or by e‑mail. If you validly requested exclusion as described above, you will not receive any distribution from the Net Settlement Fund, you cannot object to the Settlement, and you will not have released any claim against the Released Parties. You will not be legally bound by anything that happens in the Litigation.

The deadline to object to the proposed Settlement has passed. Any Class Member who wished to object to the fairness, reasonableness, or adequacy of the Settlement, any term of the Settlement, the Allocation Methodology, the Plan of Allocation, the request for Plaintiff’s Attorneys’ Fees and Litigation Expenses and Administration, Notice, and Distribution Costs, or the request for the Case Contribution Award to Class Representative had to file an objection with the Court and serve the objection on Plaintiff’s Counsel and Defendants' Counsel, via certified mail return receipt requested, and received no later than 5 p.m. CT by September 11, 2024. Any Class Member that failed to timely file the written objection statement and provide the required information will not be permitted to present any objections at the Final Fairness Hearing.

UNLESS OTHERWISE ORDERED BY THE COURT, ANY SETTLEMENT CLASS MEMBER WHO DID NOT OBJECT IN THE MANNER DESCRIBED HEREIN WILL BE DEEMED TO HAVE WAIVED ANY OBJECTION AND SHALL BE FOREVER FORECLOSED FROM MAKING ANY OBJECTON TO THE SETTLEMENT (OR ANY PART THEREOF) AND WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PRESENT ANY OBJECTIONS AT THE FINAL FAIRNESS HEARING.

You have the right to retain your own attorney to represent you at the Final Fairness Hearing. If you retain separate counsel, you will be responsible to pay his or her fees and expenses out of your own pocket.

The Notice summarizes the Settlement Agreement, which sets out all of its terms. You may obtain a copy of the Settlement Agreement with its exhibits, as well as other relevant documents, from the Important Documents page, or you may request copies by contacting the Settlement Administrator. In addition, the pleadings and other papers filed in this Action, including the Settlement Agreement, are available for inspection in at the Office of the Clerk of the Court, set forth in FAQ 7, and may be obtained by the Clerk’s office directly. The records are also available on‑line for a fee through the PACER service at www.pacer.gov/. If you have any questions about the Notice, you may consult an attorney of your own choosing at your own expense or Class Counsel.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE JUDGE OR THE COURT CLERK ASKING FOR INFORMATION REGARDING THE NOTICE.