Gilbert Blevins, Jr., et al. v. Continental Resources, Inc.
Blevins v Continental Settlement
22- CV-160-DES

Frequently Asked Questions

 

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  • The Litigation sought damages for Defendant’s alleged failure to pay statutory interest on allegedly late oil‑and‑gas proceeds payments under Oklahoma law. Defendant expressly denied all allegations of wrongdoing or liability with respect to the claims and allegations in the Litigation but agreed to the proposed Settlement to avoid the uncertainty, burden, and expense of continued litigation. The Court 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, during the Claim Period: (1) (a) received payments from Continental (or Continental’s designee) for oil and/or gas proceeds from Oklahoma wells, or (b) whose proceeds from Oklahoma wells were sent as unclaimed property to a government entity by Continental; and (2) whose payments or proceeds did not include statutory interest under the PRSA. The Settlement Class includes owners of royalty interests, overriding royalty interests, and working interests.

    Excluded from the Settlement Class are: (1) Continental, its affiliates, predecessors, and employees, officers, and directors; (2) agencies, departments, or instrumentalities of the United States of America or the State of Oklahoma; (3) publicly traded oil and gas companies and their affiliates; (4) DewBlaine Energy LLC; (5) the entities identified on Exhibit 6 to the Settlement Agreement; (6) Gregg B. Colton, Charles David Nutley, Danny George, Dan McClure, Kelly McClure Callant, C. Benjamin Nutley, White River Royalties, LLC, and their relatives, affiliates, successors, and assigns; (7) persons or entities that Plaintiffs’ counsel may be prohibited from representing under Rule 1.7 of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct; (8) any Indian tribe as defined at 30 U.S.C. § 1702(4) or Indian allottee as defined at 30 U.S.C. § 1702(2); and (9) officers of the Court.

    The Claim Period means checks, remittances, payments, or prior period adjustments to Settlement Class Members or to unclaimed property funds for oil and/or gas production from Oklahoma wells commencing on May 1, 2017, and ending on February 28, 2025, 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 June 4, 2025, the Court preliminarily approved a Settlement in the Litigation between Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and the Settlement Class, and Defendant. This approval and the Notice were 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. On September 16, 2025, the Court granted final approval to the Settlement.

    In settlement of Released Claims alleged in the Litigation, Defendant agreed to pay Sixteen Million Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($16,250,000.00) in cash (“Gross Settlement Fund”). In exchange for this payment and other consideration outlined in the Settlement Agreement, the Settlement Class releases the Released Claims (as defined in the Settlement Agreement) against the Released Parties (as defined in the Settlement Agreement). The Gross Settlement Fund, less Plaintiffs’ Attorneys’ Fees and Litigation Expenses and Administration, Notice, and Distribution Costs, Case Contribution Awards, and any other costs approved by the Court (the “Net Settlement Fund”), was distributed to final Class Members pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement.

    Class Counsel sought an award of Plaintiffs’ Attorneys’ Fees of not more than 40% of the Gross Settlement Fund. Co‑Lead Class Counsel Reagan E. Bradford and Ryan K. Wilson of Bradford & Wilson PLLC and Additional Class Counsel Charles V. Knutter of Chuck Knutter, PLLC, litigated this case without any payment whatsoever for three years, advancing hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses. At the Final Fairness Hearing, Class Counsel also sought 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, Plaintiffs sought case contribution awards of 2% of the Gross Settlement Fund for their representation of the Settlement Class, to compensate Plaintiffs for their time, expense, risk, and burden as serving as Class Representatives. On September 16, 2025, the Court approved the requested amounts. The Court also approved the Allocation Methodology, which describes how the Settlement Administrator allocated the Net Settlement Fund. The Net Settlement Fund was distributed by the Settlement Administrator after the Effective Date of the Settlement.

    The Notice does not and cannot set out all the terms of the Settlement Agreement. The website will eventually include the Notice, the Plan of Allocation, and Class Counsel’s application for Plaintiffs’ 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 was held on September 16, 2025, beginning at 10:00 a.m., before the Honorable D. Edward Snow, U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. At the Fairness Hearing, the Court considered: (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 Plaintiffs’ Attorneys’ Fees and Litigation Expenses and Administration, Notice, and Distribution Costs; and (e) the application for Case Contribution Awards for the Class Representatives.

    A CLASS MEMBER WHO WISHED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SETTLEMENT AND DID NOT SUBMIT A VALID REQUEST FOR EXCLUSION DID 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 were represented by Plaintiffs as the Class Representatives and Class Counsel. As a Class Member, you are bound by the outcome of the Settlement, if finally approved by the Court. The Class Representatives and Class Counsel believe that the Settlement is in the best interest of the Settlement Class, and, therefore, they supported the Settlement at the Final Fairness Hearing. As a Class Member, if you are entitled to a distribution pursuant to the Allocation Methodology, you were sent your portion of the Net Settlement Fund, and you are bound by the Settlement Agreement and all orders and judgments entered by the Court regarding the Settlement. Unless you excluded 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.

  • If you did not wish to be a member of the Settlement Class, then you had to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class by mailing a Request for Exclusion. All Requests for Exclusion had to include: (i) the Class Member’s name, address, telephone number, and notarized signature; (ii) a statement that the Class Member wishes to be excluded from the Settlement Class in Blevins, et al. v. Continental Resources, Inc., and (iii) a description of the Class Member’s interest in any wells for which he/she/it has received payments from Defendant, including the name, well number, county in which the well is located, and the owner identification number(s). Requests for Exclusion had to be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested, and received no later than 5 p.m. CT on August 26, 2025, as follows:

    Settlement Administrator

    Blevins v. Continental Settlement
    c/o JND Legal Administration
    P.O. Box 91225
    Seattle, WA 98111

    Class Counsel

    Reagan E. Bradford
    Ryan K. Wilson
    Bradford & Wilson PLLC
    431 W. Main St., Ste D
    Oklahoma City, OK 73102

    Defendant's Counsel

    Jeffrey C. King
    Elizabeth L. Tiblets
    K&L Gates LLP
    301 Commerce St., Ste 3000
    Fort Worth, Texas 76102

    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 are not be excluded from the Settlement Class, and you are 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 have a pending case against any of the Released Parties based upon any Released Claims during the Claim Period. You could not 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 could not 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.

  • 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 Plaintiffs’ Attorneys’ Fees and Litigation Expenses and Administration, Notice, and Distribution Costs, or the request for Case Contribution Awards to Class Representatives could have filed an objection. An objector had to file with the Court and serve upon Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel a written objection containing the following: (a) a heading referring to Blevins, et al. v. Continental Resources, Inc., No. 22‑CV‑160‑DES, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma; (b) a statement as to whether the objector intends to appear at the Final Fairness Hearing, either in person or through counsel, and, if through counsel, counsel must be identified by name, address, and telephone number; (c) a detailed statement of the specific legal and factual basis for each and every objection; (d) a list of any witnesses the objector may call at the Final Fairness Hearing, together with a brief summary of each witness’s expected testimony (to the extent the objector desires to offer expert testimony and/or an expert report, any such evidence must fully comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Evidence, and the Local Rules of the Court); (e) a list of and copies of any exhibits the objector may seek to use at the Final Fairness Hearing; (f) a list of any legal authority the objector may present at the Final Fairness Hearing; (g) the objector’s name, current address, current telephone number, and all owner identification number(s) with Defendant; (h) the objector’s signature executed before a Notary Public; (i) identification of the objector’s interest in wells for which Defendant remitted oil‑and‑gas proceeds (by well name, payee well number, and county in which the well is located) during the Claim Period and identification of any payments by date of payment, date of production, and amount; and (j) if the objector is objecting to any portion of the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys’ Fees or Litigation Expenses and Administration, Notice, and Distribution Costs, or Case Contribution Awards sought by Class Representatives or Class Counsel on the basis that the amounts requested are unreasonably high, the objector must specifically state the portion of such requests he/she/it believes is fair and reasonable and the portion that is not. Such written objections had to be filed with the Court and served on Class Counsel and Defendant’s Counsel, via certified mail return receipt requested, and received no later than 5 p.m. CT on August 26, 2025, at the addresses set forth above. Any Class Member that failed to timely file the written objection statement and provide the required information was not permitted to present any objections at the Final Fairness Hearing. Your written objection had to be timely filed with the Court at the address below:

    Clerk of the Court
    United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma
    101 North 5th St.
    Muskogee, Oklahoma 74401

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

  • You had the right to retain your own attorney to represent you at the Final Fairness Hearing. If you retained separate counsel, you are 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 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. 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.

For More Information

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Mail
Blevins v Continental Settlement
c/o JND Legal Administration
PO Box 91225
Seattle, WA 98111