CHARLESTON -- Three men and one company are suing Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation and Freedom Oil & Gas Inc. for breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
Girlonza Scott and John Hilton Tincher, and Brandon Smith and LogsOne Land Company filed separate complaints Nov. 12 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Scott and Tincher are co-owners and Smith and LogsOne Land Company are successive former owners of the property in the Malden District in Kanawha County.
According to both suits, Cabot Oil & Gas and Freedom Oil & Gas operate natural gas wells on the property and have so in accordance to a lease dated April 23, 1926.
The plaintiffs claim that despite the increase in gas prices since 1926, the market price has not been changed and the companies are "reaping a windfall due to the increased value of gas," while the plaintiffs "continue to receive mere pennies rather than the full one-eighth royalty that they are entitled to under the lease."
Scott, Tincher, Smith and LogsOne Land Company claim they are only receiving three cents per thousand cubic feet.
In both cases, Cabot Oil & Gas and Freedom Oil & Gas are being sued for compensatory damages with interest for breach of contract and unjust enrichment. Marvin W. Masters and Christopher L. Brinkley from the Masters Law Firm are representing all plaintiffs.
Scott and Tincher's case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey. Smith and LogsOne Land Company's case has been assigned to Circuit Judge James C. Stucky.
Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers: 09-C-2116 and 09-C-2117
Two oil and gas companies being sued in two cases
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