Ascent Resources Must Face Certified Class in Gas Royalty Suit

Oil and gas lease owners who allege they were underpaid royalties by Ascent Resources Utica LLC can proceed as a class, an Ohio federal court ruled.

The original language of the proposed class was “problematically vague,” according to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. It was proposed to cover people receiving royalties for wells “for which Ascent was associated with such wells or associated drilling units, since October 1, 2014.”

The court instead redefined the class as people “who were paid royalties by Ascent at any time since October 1, 2014.”

Ascent argued the plaintiffs failed ...