The Litigation sought damages for Defendant’s alleged failure to pay statutory interest on allegedly late payments under Oklahoma law. Defendant expressly denies all allegations of wrongdoing or liability with respect to the claims and allegations in the 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 Court Clerk for the Northern 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) received Late Payments from Defendant (or Defendant’s designee) for oil‑and‑gas proceeds from Oklahoma wells; or whose proceeds were escheated to a government entity by Defendant; or whose proceeds from Oklahoma wells were held in suspense by Defendant on or before May 31, 2023; and (2) who have not already been paid statutory interest on the Late Payments or on the amounts held in suspense by Defendant on or before May 31, 2023.

A “Late Payment” for purposes of this class definition means payment of proceeds from the sale of oil or gas production from and an oil‑and‑gas well after the statutory periods identified in Okla. Stat. tit. 52, § 570.10.

Excluded from this class are: (1) Defendant, 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) 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) officers of the court; (5) Dan McClure and Kelly McClure Callant and any entity owned or controlled by such parties; (6) Tip Top Oil & Gas; (7) amounts attributable to Owners in suspense with a “TI” suspense code or corresponding numerical code connoting title issues including but not limited to, owner numbers 49802, 57774, 58849; and (8) persons or entities that Plaintiff’s counsel may be prohibited from representing under Rule 1.7 of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct.

The Claim Period means payments made or issued by Defendant (i) with respect to the White Star Wells, checks or payments dated between and including May 19, 2019, and May 31, 2023, sent by or on behalf of Contango or its predecessor(s); (ii) with respect to all other wells, and except as stated below regarding funds held in suspense, checks or payments dated between September 30, 2017, through May 31, 2023; (iii) with respect to suspense funds, the amounts held in suspense by Contango on or before May 31, 2023, attributable to production dates before November 1, 2019. For all production dates prior to October 1, 2019, for funds held in suspense as of May 31, 2023, statutory interest is calculated from October 1, 2019, through September 30, 2024, subject to the terms of this Settlement Agreement regarding Released Claims.

The Claim Period shall not include (a) with respect to White Star Wells, any statutory interest accrued on Late Payments made prior to May 19, 2019, and not paid by Defendant or its predecessors; (b) with respect to suspense funds, (i) any statutory interest attributable to production dates on or after November 1, 2019; (ii) for White Star Wells only, any statutory interest accrued prior to October 1, 2019, attributable to production dates on or before October 1, 2019; and (iii) and statutory interest on proceeds held in suspense after October 31, 2024, attributable to production dates before November 1, 2019.

On April 23, 2024, the Court granted final approval to the Settlement in the Litigation between Plaintiff, on behalf of itself and the Settlement Class, and Defendant. 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.

In settlement of all claims alleged in the Litigation, Defendant has agreed to pay Eight Million One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($8,100,000.00) in cash (“Gross Settlement Fund”). In exchange for the payment noted above 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 $8,100,000.00 cash payment is referred to as the “Gross Settlement Fund.” The Gross Settlement Fund, less Class Counsel’s Attorneys’ Fees and Litigation Expenses and Administration, Notice, and Distribution Costs, and 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 sought an award of Attorneys’ Fees of not more than 40% of the Gross Settlement Fund. Co‑Lead Class Counsel, Randy C. Smith, of Randy C. Smith PLLC and Brady L. Smith 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 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 an amount not exceeding $350,000.00. In addition, Plaintiff sought a case contribution award for its representation of the Class, which amount did not exceed 2%, to compensate Plaintiff for their 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 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 also include the Notice, the Plan of Allocation, and Plaintiff’s Counsel’s application for 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 April 23, 2024, and the Court granted final approval to the settlement. 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 Class Counsel’s Attorneys’ Fees and Litigation Expenses and Administration, Notice, and Distribution Costs; and (e) the application for a Case Contribution Award for the Class Representative.

AS CLASS MEMBER, IF YOU DID NOT SUBMIT A VALID REQUEST FOR EXCLUSION, YOU DID NOT NEED TO APPEAR AT THE FINAL FAIRNESS HEARING OR TOOK ANY OTHER ACTION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SETTLEMENT.

By taking no action, your interests are represented by Plaintiff as the Class Representative and Plaintiff’s Counsel. The Court has been requested to approve a Plan of Allocation which provides that no distributions will be made to any Class Member who would otherwise receive a distribution of $5.00 or less. As a Class Member, you are bound by the outcome of the Settlement. Any Judgment entered in this action, whether favorable or not, will include all Class Members who did not request exclusion. 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 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 or be part of any other lawsuit against any of the Released Parties based on any of the Released Claims.

The deadline to submit a request for exclusion passed on April 2, 2024.

If you validly requested exclusion, you will not receive any distribution from the Net Settlement Fund, 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 Settlement passed on April 2, 2024.

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 settlement website for free at 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 Court Clerk, 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 THIS NOTICE.