Class Gets Partial Approval As Judge Adopts Magistrate’s Report In Royalty Case

( September 8, 2025, 9:05 AM EDT) -- PITTSBURGH — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Sept. 5 overruled the objections of hydraulic fracturing operator XTO Energy Inc. and adopted a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation granting leaseholders partial class certification in a fracking dispute concerning XTO’s deduction of postproduction costs from the royalties the company paid....