Hello my name is Daniel Smith, back in 2007 I singed a lease agreement with a local well company to drill a gas well for the purpose of producing gas. Back in 2007 the gas was expensive, and it cost a lot to heat my home, so the royalty checks where nice and so was the free gas. Since that time I had some financial trouble, lost my main house to pay off creditors and moved into the house I rented out, which is only 50feet from the gas well. The owner of the gas company passes away and left the company to his son. I am only 3 or 4 miles from the lessor, and the royalty checks are not being sent. In 2014 when I sold the main residence my lawyer sent a certified letter stating he was in default on lease and that my house was being sold and the new owners would have to be added in the loop of land, at that same time is when the owner passed away. Things have not been good since .
My neighbor has a well with the same company drilled in 2005. Both wells go to a National fuel meter, the neighbors well only has a meter for the household use, and my well has a Barton meter with a paper chart. I was sent a check for the whole year of 2016, and the lease agreement states I am to be paid monthly. The paper in the meter was not changed since 4/01/16, which is the way to determine the gas production between the two wells. Then the brine tank overflowed, so I called DEC and that was cleaned up. I sent for a foil request to find out what DEC had the company do and according to the paper work I received was not done in that accordance, and being the land owner I was not notified of anything. I showed the DEC officer the chart and called to find out why that was not on the report. DEC will not comment stating they have there own case and cannot be involved in civil matters. My attorney has sent certified letters stating he is in default of lease and asked for accurate records and readings, which I know from the paper chart not being changed he cannot produce. He replied with letters stating he just uses a percentage, which did not even work with his calculations. I sent it to DEC and they asked me what it was, I told them that is how he reported the production of my well. The next letter was from a new attorney and had a different way of reading production by turning valves on and off. I contacted DEC with this information, they said they would like to comment but could not. My lawyer says she has done all she can and said I have to go to litigation, I called an litigation attorney and he said he could not help me, but gave me a list of things to do. He said if he took the case he would have to have an audit done and I could do that, and this site would be a good place to maybe find a n auditor, so here I am. The other things on my list I have to get from DEC. I have other problems also with the gas meter to the house, and no statements with any meter readings of any kind. Any help is welcome, thank you Daniel D Smith.