Class-Action Status OK’d in Oklahoma Suit Over Earthquakes

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Central Oklahoma residents won’t get a trial this fall for a case against an oil company accused of triggering earthquakes that damaged homes and buildings.

A Cleveland County judge has outlined rules for the class-action case that Jennifer Lin Cooper brought against New Dominion LLC. The judge issued a journal entry July 13 on the limited class certification, which allows the defendant to begin an appeal process.

The lawsuit alleges that New Dominion’s wastewater disposal operations caused a swarm of earthquakes in November 2011, including a magnitude 5.7 quake in Prague that affected more than 170 homes.

A trial was initially scheduled for September, but Cooper had told the judge earlier she’d agree to remove the trial if her case was certified.

Cooper, of Prague, filed the suit against Tulsa-based New Dominion and Spess Oil Co. of Cleveland, Okla., along with 25 unnamed companies in February 2015. She sought class-action status for people in Lincoln County and eight surrounding counties whose homes were damaged by earthquakes.

Thousands of earthquakes have been recorded in Oklahoma in recent years, with many linked to the underground injection of wastewater from oil and natural gas production.

Oklahoma has had six quakes of at least magnitude 4.0 halfway through this year, which is one more than all of last year. A magnitude 4.6 quake in April near Perry was the 12th largest in state history.

The overall rate of earthquakes has declined, however, with 96 quakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater through June 30, compared with 144 at this point last year and 302 by the end of 2017.