IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF TYLER COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
JB EXPLORATION I, LLC , a West
Virginia Limited Liability Company,
Individually, and in Fiduciary
Relationship with its Lessor,
JON R. JAMES,
Plaintiffs,
CIVIL ACTION NO. 23-C-26
Hon. Charles Richard Wilson, Judge
-vs-
JULIE ANN PERINE, PAULA MICHELLE RIMMELE,
EDWIN RECTOR, PATHFINDER RESOURCES IV,
LLC, RIDGETOP TEN, LLC, MCCROW ENERGY
PARTNERS II, LLC, WILDES MINERAL INTEREST,
AMP FUND III, LP, APPALACHIAN BASIN
MINERALS, LP, CONSOLIDATED MINERALS, LLC,
PENNMARC RESOURCES II, CHARLES R. EDDY,
HERBERT NORMAN EDDY, JAMES ROBERT EDDY,
STEVEN CURTIS MILLER, LORI A. WATSON,
CHERYL ANN GARNER, PATRICIA KATHLEEN
GOTSCHALL, ELDRED M. VANNOY, DANA GENE
FREDERICK, BARBARA J. GIBSON YOAK, DAVID
MARTIN MATHEWS, GARY DEAN BUSH, JOHN
RICHARD MATHEWS, MARTHA HARRIETT
RANSOM, MARTHA LYNNE RHODES, SALLIE ANNE
ROMANO, LINDA LOUISE TOWNER, JERRY G.
STURM, MARY ELIZABETH YATRAKIS, DONNA
JEAN KELLY, WESLEY ALLEN EDDY, DAN E.
BOWER, GRACE BOWER,
JONATHON BOWER, TERRANCE BOWER, and the
remaining unknown heirs, devisees, successors,
assigns and/or creditors of any of the above and all
other unknown persons or defendants, who own
or claim to own an interest in and to the oil and gas
within and underlying those certain tracts or parcels
of real estate situate on the waters of Indian Creek, McElroy District, Tyler County, West Virginia, said to collectively contain 275.38 acres,
more or less,
Defendants.
ORDER OF PUBLICATION AND NOTICE OF SECOND AMENDED
MOTION, NOTICE OF HEARING AND NOTICE OF BRIEFING ORDER
To: The above-named Defendants, their unknown
heirs, devisees, successors and/or assigns, if any, and the following named individuals or their heirs, devisees, successors and/or assigns, if any: Angela R. Nichols, Sonya M. Henry, Katrina L. Elifritz and Elkhorn Mineral Fund, LP
On June 19, 2025, Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Motion to Quiet Title, Direct Assessments, Dismiss
Action and Award Guardian ad Litem Fee (the “Second Amended Motion”) in the above-styled civil action.
Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Motion seeks the final
adjudication and declaration by the Court of the
undivided fractional ownership of the oil and gas
underlying those certain tracts or parcels of land
collectively containing 275.38
acres, more or less, located in McElroy District,
Tyler County, West Virginia, being hereinafter
further described (the “Subject Oil and Gas Property”)
in accordance with the ownership interests set forth in “Second Updated Exhibit 1” (as attached to
the Second Amended Motion and incorporated therein)
and an Order quieting title in and to the Subject Oil and Gas Property. Further, such Second Amended Motion seeks an Order directing the Assessor for Tyler County,
West Virginia to assess all such
undivided fractional ownership interests.
The Subject Oil and Gas Property is described as
follows:
Situated on the waters of Indian Creek, McElroy District, in the County of Tyler, State of West Virginia, being further described as
follows:
Tract No. 1: BEGINNING at an Iron wood corner to
McCormick; thence N.17 E.60 poles to a white oak
corner to surveys 33, 34, 38, 39 of the Yankee lands;
thence N.45 W.130 poles to a stone in Johns line and to
be further bounded so as to contain fifty acres of a tract
of eighty acres of land patented to John W. Horner on
the first day of October A.D. one thousand eight
hundred and fifty one, with the appurtenances thereto.
Tract No. 2: BEGINNING at a poplar in Joseph
McComicks line; thence S.70 W.100 poles to a white oak; thence N.70 E.190 poles to a hickory; thence N.70 E.100 poles to a stone; thence S.70 W.170 poles to the beginning containing one hundred acres, with
the appurtenances thereto.
Tract No. 3: BEGINNING at a stone; thence N.15
E.123 rods to a stone; thence S.44 E.28 1/2 rods to a
dead white oak; thence S.75 W.4 rods to a white oak;
thence S.15 W.92 rods to a red oak; thence S.8 rods to
a stone; thence west 24 rods to the beginning,
containing fifteen and one eighth (15 1/8) acres of land, be the same more or less.
Tract No. 4: BEGINNING at a white oak in the Yankee
lands; thence with three lines of the Homer patent, S.19
W.60 poles to an Ironwood; thence N.40 W.80 poles to a beech; thence S.50 W.76 poles to a stake; N.52 W.33 poles to a stake in the line of said patent; thence with the same N.70 W.109 poles to a white oak stump; thence S.23 E.72 poles to a dogwood; thence S.40
E.22 poles to a stone corner to William McCormick; thence with three of his lines N.35 E.119 poles to a stone; thence S.83 E.13 poles to stone; thence S.15 1/4 E.157 poles, crossing Indian Run, to a stone; thence N.15 E.123 poles to a bush; thence N.44 W.28 poles to the place of beginning, containing one hundred and
ten and one fourth acres, more or less.
Further being all of the oil, gas and minerals underlying the aforedescribed tracts of land as shown on the tax maps for Tyler County, McElroy District as Tax Map No. 7, Parcels 40 and 40.1.
On July 15, 2025, the Circuit Court of Tyler County,
West Virginia entered a Briefing Order and Order Scheduling Hearing on Plaintiffs’ Second Amended
Motion to Quiet Title, Direct Assessments, Dismiss
Action and Award Guardian ad Litem Fee
and Order Directing Service (“Briefing Order”) in the
above-styled civil action scheduling a hearing upon Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Motion which hearing shall occur on October 6, 2025 at 2:00p.m. before the Hon. Charles R. Wilson, Judge and which hearing shall be held in the Courtroom located in the Tyler
County Judicial Building, 228 Main Street,
Middlebourne, West Virginia.
Further, such Briefing Order directs that any Response
to Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Motion be filed on or
before September 3, 2025.
It appearing by affidavit filed in this action that the
whereabouts of some or all of the above named
Defendants and individuals, and their respective
unknown heirs, devisees, successors or assigns,
if any, are unknown and/or that such individuals or
entities are nonresidents of the State of West Virginia; that there are or may be persons other than those
named above who are interested in such oil, gas
and minerals, whose names are unknown to Plaintiffs, and who are made parties to the Complaint filed in this
action by the general description of unknown
defendants, and the Plaintiffs having made diligent
but futile efforts to locate some or all of said Defendants and individuals; it is accordingly ORDERED that each of them do appear and serve upon William Crichton VI, Lawyer, whose address is 511 28th Street, Vienna,
West Virginia 26105, a response to the Second
Amended Motion filed in this action on or before the
3rd day of September, 2025, otherwise judgment
by default will be taken against them at any
time thereafter.
A copy of Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Motion (with
Second Updated Exhibit 1) and the said Briefing Order
can be obtained from the undersigned Clerk at her office located at 230 Main Street, Middlebourne, WV 26149 in Middlebourne, Tyler County, West Virginia.
Entered by the said Clerk this 17th day of July, 2025.
Teste:
s/Candy L. Warner
Clerk of said Court
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