Class-action status sought for Glencrest lawsuit

The mineral-rights leasing boom in the Barnett Shale produced its first potential class-action lawsuit Tuesday when a Fort Worth lawyer sued Leonard Briscoe Sr. and his company, Glencrest Resources, over hundreds of promised lease bonuses that allegedly have never been paid.

Attorney John Hart said he will seek class-action status on the grounds that as many as 2,500 landowners may be involved in the dispute, which extends over nearly a year. According to the suit, Briscoe and Glencrest told plaintiff Pamela Ellis, a Fort Worth resident, and other homeowners at a Dec. 5 meeting that they would be paid a signing bonus within 30 to 45 days of agreeing to the lease. Despite numerous telephone calls to Glencrest, "to date, defendants have not paid plaintiff the promised bonus," according to the suit.

Briscoe, a Fort Worth developer, could not be reached Tuesday for comment. Calls over two days to Glencrest Resources went unanswered, and Briscoe's personal phone number would not accept additional voice messages.

In May, the Star-Telegram reported that a number of landowners in Mansfield, Forest Hill and Fort Worth complained that they had not received bonus payments from Glencrest. At the time, Briscoe said he was raising money to finance Glencrest, a startup company, and expected to have the money by June. In July, Briscoe told the newspaper that he still hoped to raise $60 million and was hiring a drilling consultant.

Suit welcomed

Samuel Solis of Forest Hill, who said he signed a lease with Glencrest in January, said he was glad to hear of the suit. "I sent letters. They were never answered," Solis said Tuesday. "I'm glad they filed the suit. I want to join that."

Grace Winston of Mansfield signed a lease with Glencrest in November and was also willing to join a lawsuit. "I've waited a long time," she said. She said she hasn't tried to lease her property to another drilling company because "I didn't know if I could."

Hart said a mineral-rights lease is a legal document that can't simply be dismissed. A property owner might be tempted to ignore the lease, "but the legitimate oil companies are concerned about it and are staying away" from Glencrest leases, he said. He said he has seen a few property owners sign a second lease, called a top lease, with another driller, who would gain the lease if the original lease were terminated. But that is an unusual situation, he said.

Glencrest Resources has filed 100 mineral-rights leases with Tarrant County, according to records. In addition, Briscoe has said he filed a memorandum of lease with hundreds of additional names. In all, he has said, Glencrest has signed about 3,000 leases.

Tougher Texas law

Hart said he is seeking to rescind, or cancel, those leases for lack of payment of the promised bonus. Although Texas has made it harder in recent years to file class-action suits, "We think this is the sort of circumstance contemplated by the rules," he said. Class-action suits can take years to conclude, but Hart said he intends to press for a hearing by early December.

Mineral-rights expert John Baen of the University of North Texas said that given the money at stake in the Barnett Shale, "I am just amazed how few lawsuits there have been. The record is really pretty good." He said a class-action lawsuit is probably an appropriate way to try to resolve the Glencrest leases.

TO JOIN THE SUIT

Homeowners who signed leases with Glencrest Resources may be eligible to join a lawsuit seeking to throw out the leases. Contact John Hart at johnhart@hartlaw.com or 817-870-2102.

Comments

[Gladys Davis]

Whatever happened with the Glencrest Resourse situation I have not heard anything but what was read on the star telegram blog at Typepad. I am a Forest Hill resident who signed with Glencrest, didn't know nothing about a class action suit, am I too late to get in on it. Ms. Davis

[Elle Grand]

The paper says Glencrest leases span several communities. What NAs' are involved in Forest Hill does anyone know. I live in the Heritage Addt and havn't a clue

Turn your lease problems with Brisco &
Glencrest over to the DA.

[Rosa Yaites]

I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER NOW THAT I AM WITH DALE..! AND IM HAPPY TO REPORT, TO DEAR MR BRISCOE-->> DALE IS ''NOT'' GIVING $ 300 SIGN ON ..! I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW IF ANYONE WITH GLENCREST HAVE RECEIVED A CHECK YET.! FYI;; I PASS THE NEW LOCATION FOR GLENCREST RESOURCES FROM TIME TO TIME, ITS SOME AWFULLY NEW AND EXPENSIVE SUV'S OUT FRONT.! HUMMM. MAKES ME WONDER AFTER BRISCOES ATTORNEY MR DRUMM TOLD ME '' AS OF DECEMBER, ''IF'' ANY MONEY IS SECURED BY GLENCREST, THE BILLS FOR GLENCREST WILL BE PAID FIRST; IE; DAVID DRUMM, AND GLENCREST EMPLOYEES..'' HUMM, EMPLOYEES, WOULD THAT BE THE BRISCOE FAMILY THAT RUN THE OFFICE..? HUMM.. WELL, I THINK THEY GOT PAID..

[Linda P.]

I doubt that Dale is taking a gamble that Glencrest won't get it's act together - Dale is trying to help those that were taken advantage of by an unscrupulous person. Should they not have the right to participate in the revenue that their property sits on? If Glencrest never filed the documents with the County Clerks office and 6 months or more had past - Thank goodness Dale was willing to step in and take that gamble on behalf of these people. Glencrest never had any intensions of honoring those leases - only scamming the people. This is not Leonard Briscoe's first offense of illegal activity, but that's another story.

[BC]

This is an example of people signing for the wrong reasons, not the evil oil companies taking advantage of poor Mr. Humphries. As these people found out, the most bonus is not always the best. Even if these people did get paid, that would have probably been the end of the money because Glencrest had no intention of drilling a well. The fact that someone is local or an African-American is not a good enough reason to sign a lease, unless you just want to make an already wealthy person even wealthier.

[Marcus H.]

Janna is wrong. Dale has actual knowledge of the prior lease, so the fact that Glencrest did not file is not relevant as to them. Dale is probably gambling that Glencrest will never get its act together enough to make an issue of it, but if they do then the fantasy of the "automatic termination" will not hold up.

[Janna Harley]

I signed with Glencrest Resources Feb.19,2007 and waited and waited for a check. I finally called months later and was given the usual excuses and I just decided to wait it out longer, knowing they had verbally said we would get a check after signing within 3 to 4 weeks, they would obviously be in default anyway and I just assumed after such a long period of time when I was ready, I could re-sign with another company. I gave them every opportunity to take care of business, and finally in Sept.'07 I was contacted by Dale Property Services. I imediately told them about my issues with the Glencrest signing and they said that may not be a problem, they typed in my property address on their laptop and quickly said you're good to go, your property has never been filed yet. Apparently if they have not filed the document, and this much time has passed, another Co. can sign and file you, atleast thats what Dale did on mine. I assume they know what they're doing, after all they gave me my sign up bonus check, and I don't think they want to lose that money, so surely this or something like this has happened before, and they know the law regarding these issues - nonetheless, I am now with Dale. The important thing is have they filed your information yet? By now they probably have, but it wouldn't hurt to check. As far as this attorney, I dont see where you would need one, if Glencrest is in default on this contract as they are.

[B. Humphries]

Look at the other comments about this lawsuit on the other article
about this lawsuit !!!

[B. Humphries]

If this is true, GOOD JOB ROSA !!! I have been telling everyone to
watch their backs on this blog. This is just another sorry example
of WHY.

[Rosa Yaites]

**** BEFORE ANYONE SIGNS THE CONTRACT WITH JOHN HART, ''READ''READ''READ IT VERY CAREFULLY FIRST..! GRAB YOUR CALCULATOR, HAVE JOHN HART ON THE PHONE AND GET HIM TO EXPLAIN HIS FEE.. HE WANTS 25 % OF YOUR SIGN ON BONUS 'AND' 25 % OF YOUR ROYALTY OVER THE LIFE OF YOUR LEASE, ''NOT'' THE 3-5 YEARS TO DRILL BUT, MOST OF THE LEASES ARE AROUND 25 YEARS IF MINERALS ARE FOUND, WITH MONTHLY ROYALTY AND HE WANTS 25% OF IT FOR 25 YEARS.! JUST TO GET A PIECE OF PAPER BACK FOR YOU..! SOUNDS LIKE, WE WILL ALL COME OUT BETTER IF WE JUST SIT BACK, HANG ON, AND LET GLENCREST RESOURCES BACK OUT THE DEAL. THEN, WE ARE FREE OF THIS LEASE.

ROSA' YAITES