CJ-2026-1667 - JORDAN PICKARD and SAMANTHA BACHMAN-PICKARD v. OKLAHOMA GAS GATHERING, LLC, Mija, LLC, and VAQUERO RESOURCES, LLC

What's This Case About?

Let’s cut straight to the part that will make you spit out your morning coffee: a married couple in Midwest City, Oklahoma, claims an oil company didn’t just accidentally leak petroleum on their property — they allegedly bulldozed over fifty trees, tore up septic lines, rerouted water flow, and left behind a toxic mess — all while trespassing and ignoring direct instructions — and then tried to play corporate musical chairs with their LLCs like it was no big deal. This isn’t just a lawsuit. This is eco-vandalism with paperwork.

Jordan Pickard and Samantha Bachman-Pickard weren’t living on some remote oil field outpost. They were homeowners, minding their business at 409 Westminster Road, where they presumably enjoyed things like fresh air, functional septic systems, and trees that weren’t being summarily executed by gas company contractors. Their slice of suburban peace, however, shared a fence line with infrastructure belonging to Oklahoma Gas Gathering, LLC — a company whose name sounds like a side hustle for a particularly ambitious Boy Scout troop, but is in fact a petroleum pipeline operator. Also tangled in this mess: Mija, LLC, the outfit that allegedly owned the oil well feeding into that pipeline, which — plot twist — changed its name to Vaquero Resources, LLC after the disaster. Yes, really. It’s like watching a cartoon villain swap hats and pretend, “Nope, not me, never seen that guy before.”

Here’s how the nightmare unfolded. On April 13, 2024, Jordan and Samantha came home to what can only be described as a scene from a low-budget horror film — their property reeked of petroleum. We’re not talking “oh, someone spilled gas while mowing the lawn” levels of stink. This was so bad they called Oklahoma Natural Gas, convinced they were about to die in a fiery explosion. Turns out, no explosion — just a slow-motion environmental crime. The next day, they caught employees from Oklahoma Gas Gathering stomping around the back of their land like they owned it. Surprise! There’d been a leak in a petroleum line on the adjacent property, and the gunk had oozed right onto the Pickards’ yard. At least the company had the decency to ask permission to come in and clean it up. Sort of. They asked after the fact, like showing up to a dinner party two hours late and saying, “Mind if I use your kitchen to reheat my casserole?”

The Pickards, bless their cooperative hearts, said fine — but with rules. Specific instructions were given about where crews could go and what they could touch. And then? The crews allegedly ignored all of it. What followed wasn’t a cleanup. It was a demolition derby. Over fifty trees — yes, fifty — were removed. Deer feeders? Destroyed. Roadways? Torn up. Grass? Obliterated. Septic lines? Damaged. Water flow? Altered like they were rerouting a river for a theme park. All in the name of “fixing” a leak they should’ve prevented in the first place. And let’s not forget the lingering petroleum still in the soil — because apparently, “clean up” means “leave toxic sludge and call it a day.”

Now, here’s where the corporate shell game kicks in. Weeks after the spill, Mija, LLC — the company tied to the source well — rebranded itself as Vaquero Resources, LLC. Poof! Same people, same liabilities, new name tag. And Vaquero didn’t stop the destruction — they continued it, sending their own crews to further ravage the property under the guise of remediation. At this point, it’s less “fixing a mistake” and more “committing a sequel.”

So why are we in court? Because Jordan and Samantha aren’t just mad — they’re legally livid. Their lawsuit throws the entire civil code playbook at these companies: negligence, because the pipeline wasn’t monitored or maintained like it should’ve been; trespass, because employees kept coming onto their land without permission and wrecked stuff they had no business touching; private nuisance, because imagine trying to enjoy your backyard when it smells like a gas station bathroom and looks like a war zone; and environmental damage, because, hello, petroleum in your soil is not a feature, it’s a felony-level foul-up. They’re also citing Oklahoma’s Surface Damages Act — a law designed to protect landowners from exactly this kind of corporate overreach — arguing the companies violated it so badly they’re negligent per se, which is legalese for “so obviously wrong, we don’t even need to debate it.”

And what do they want? A judgment for over $75,000 — though they originally floated up to $100,000 — plus attorney fees and, crucially, punitive damages. Now, is $75,000 a lot? For a couple who lost fifty trees, a functional yard, their septic system, and peace of mind? Honestly? It’s a bargain. Replacing that kind of greenery alone could cost tens of thousands. Environmental remediation? Easily six figures. And that’s before you factor in the emotional toll of watching your home turn into an industrial crime scene. The punitive damages are the spicy part — they’re not meant to compensate, they’re meant to punish. To say, “You didn’t just mess up — you acted with willful and wanton disregard,” which is the legal equivalent of calling someone a menace.

So what’s our take? Look, we’re not anti-oil. We’re not even anti-pipeline. But we are very anti-“We’ll just rename the company and pretend this didn’t happen.” The most absurd part isn’t even the scale of the destruction — it’s the sheer audacity of the response. Not only did these companies allegedly fail at basic infrastructure maintenance, but they then treated a private residential property like a construction site with no rules. They trespassed. They ignored boundaries. They changed their names like they were hiding from a bad Yelp review. And they left a family with a yard that sounds more like a Superfund site than a place to host a barbecue.

We’re rooting for the trees. We’re rooting for the septic lines. We’re rooting for the idea that you shouldn’t come home to find your property has been turned into an oil company’s personal junk drawer. This isn’t just about money — it’s about the principle that corporations don’t get to waltz onto your land, destroy it, and then vanish into a cloud of LLC paperwork like a cartoon fox in a trench coat. If justice has a sense of humor, the court’s ruling will come with a side of poetic karma — and maybe a mandatory tree-planting clause. Fifty new trees. Same spot. And this time, ask permission first.

Case Overview

$75,000 Demand Petition

Jurisdiction

District Court, Oklahoma

Filing Attorney

STEPHEN D. BACHMAN

HOLLOWAY, DOBSON & BACHMAN, P.L.L.C.

Relief Sought

$100,000 Monetary

$1 Punitive

Plaintiffs

JORDAN PICKARD and SAMANTHA BACHMAN-PICKARD individual
Rep: HOLLOWAY, DOBSON & BACHMAN, P.L.L.C.

Defendants

OKLAHOMA GAS GATHERING, LLC, Mija, LLC, and VAQUERO RESOURCES, LLC business

Claims

#	Cause of Action	Description
1	Negligence, Trespass, Private Nuisance, and Environmental Damage	Petroleum product leak and subsequent damage to property

Petition Text

1,095 words

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF OKLAHOMA COUNTY STATE OF OKLAHOMA JORDAN PICKARD and SAMANTHA BACHMAN-PICKARD, Plaintiffs, v. OKLAHOMA GAS GATHERING, LLC, MIJA, LLC, and VAQUERO RESOURCES, LLC, Defendants. CASE NO. CJ-2026-1667 PETITION COMES NOW Plaintiffs and for their cause of action against Defendants, Oklahoma Gas Gathering, LLC, Mija, LLC (now d/b/a Vaquero Resources) LLC, and Vaquero Resources, LLC and alleges and states as follows: 1. Plaintiffs Jordan Pickard and Samantha Bachman-Pickard are residents of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, State of Oklahoma; Defendants, Oklahoma Gas Gathering, LLC. Defendant’s Oklahoma Gas Gathering, LLC, Mija, LLC and Vaquero Resources, LLC are limited liability corporations doing business in Oklahoma County. Further, the incident which gives rise to this litigation concerns a petroleum product leak that occurred in Midwest City, Oklahoma County, State of Oklahoma. Plaintiffs assert the Court has jurisdiction over the parties and of the subject matter and that venue is appropriate. 2. That on or about April 13, 2024, Plaintiffs returned to their home where they discovered a horrific smell on their property located at 409 Westminster Road in Midwest City, Oklahoma. The caustic and horrific smell caused Plaintiffs to contact Oklahoma Natural Gas believing there was a sudden natural gas leak. The following day Plaintiffs discovered employees of Defendant Oklahoma Gas Gathering trespassing at the back of their property. The employees of Defendant Oklahoma Gas Gathering were confronted and they advised they suffered a leak of a petroleum line on the property adjacent to Plaintiffs’ property. The petroleum product was now on Plaintiff’s property. The employees requested to enter Plaintiffs’ property (after the fact) to control the leaking petroleum products. In an effort at cooperation, Plaintiffs agreed, however, they gave specific instructions for the entry of their property. Thereafter, employees of Defendant Oklahoma Gas Gathering disregarded the specific instructions and destroyed and/or altered multiple elements of Plaintiffs’ property. 3. Upon information and belief, Plaintiffs understand that Defendant Mija, LLC owned and/or operated the oil well that was the source of the petroleum product being transmitted in the line. Plaintiffs assert that Defendant Mija, LLC owed a duty of care to Plaintiffs and breached said duty of care. Further, weeks after the leak in question, Mija, LLC was purchased and/or transferred to Vaquero Resources, LLC. Plaintiffs assert that Mija, LLC and/or Vaquero Resources, LLC owed a duty of care to Plaintiffs to remedy the damage caused on the Plaintiffs’ property. Defendants Mija, LLC and Vaquero Resources, LLC breached it’s duty of care causing damage to Plaintiffs as asserted herein. 4. Upon information and belief Plaintiffs’ understand that Defendant Oklahoma Gas Gathering, LLC was responsible for maintaining and monitoring the petroleum transportation line on the property adjacent to Plaintiff’s property. Defendant Oklahoma Gas Gathering, LLC owed a duty of care to prevent petroleum products from entering Plaintiff’s property. Defendant Oklahoma Gas Gathering, LLC breached said duty causing damages as described herein. 5. Among the items destroyed by Defendants included the removal of well in excess of fifty (50) trees, destruction of deer feeders, destruction of the roadway, destruction of septic lines, altering the water flow and destruction of grass surfaces and other maintained areas. Employees of Defendant Oklahoma Gas Gathering, LLC and/or Mija, LLC and/or Vaquero Resources, LLC exhibited willful and wanton disregard for Plaintiffs’ property. Plaintiffs assert that the petroleum leak in question was the direct and proximate result of the negligence of Oklahoma Gas Gathering, LLC and/or Mija, LLC in their failure to monitor, test and protect Plaintiffs’ property from the invasion of the petroleum product. Additionally, despite the levels of petroleum product spilled on Plaintiffs’ property and into the soil, Defendants have failed to properly repair and/or remove the soil, repair any of the damages caused by their employees as a result of the leak and their subsequent poor efforts at controlling the leaking petroleum products. 6. During the course of damaging Plaintiffs’ property in order to control the damage, Mija, LLC changed its name to Vaquero Resources, LLC. After the name change, employees of Vaquero Resources, LLC continued and further damaged Plaintiffs’ property during the course of its work. 7. The actions of one and/or all Defendants constitute a private nuisance on Plaintiffs’ property due to the terrible smell and other damages to the property. 8. That the negligence of Defendants, Oklahoma Gas Gathering, LLC, Mija, LLC and/or Vaquero Resources, LLC, includes, but is not limited to the following acts: a. Failing to properly operate, maintain, gather, transport and/or monitor the petroleum line in question; b. Failing to place proper safeguards in order to prevent petroleum products from entering Plaintiffs’ property; c. Failing to properly remove soil and other petroleum products from the Plaintiffs’ property; d. In negligently damaging Plaintiffs’ property including removing trees, altering waterflow, altering and/or creating roadways through the plaintiffs’ property by utilizing large trucks to remove the trees and other property taken by Defendants, and e. In negligently causing the incident in question and further damage to Plaintiff’s property. 9. That the employees of Oklahoma Gas Gathering, LLC and/or Vaquero Resources, LLC exhibited willful and wanton disregard for the rights of Plaintiffs in failing to properly remove the petroleum product, continually trespassing on Plaintiffs’ property and damaging Plaintiffs’ property. Plaintiffs assert they are entitled to punitive damages as a direct result of the willful and wanton disregard for the rights of the Plaintiffs. 10. That the actions of one and/or all Defendants constitute trespass. The existence of petroleum products that were allowed to invade the property owned by Plaintiffs and are continuously discovered constitute trespass on Plaintiffs’ property. In addition, employees of one and/or all of Defendants were allowed a specific area to traverse on Plaintiffs’ property but disregarded those limitations causing significant damages as described herein. 11. The actions of one and/or all Defendant's constitute a violation of the Surface Damages Act entitling Plaintiff's to recover for the negligent per se actions. 12. The actions of one and/or all Defendant's resulted in environmental damage to soil and other aspects resulting in strict liability for said actions. WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs Jordan Pickard and Samantha Bachman-Pickard pray for a judgment in an amount in excess of Ten Thousand Dollars and No/100ths ($10,000.00) and in excess of Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars and No/100ths ($75,000.00), costs of this action, attorney fees, punitive damages and for such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper. Respectfully submitted, HOLLOWAY, DOBSON & BACHMAN, P.L.L.C. One Leadership Square, Suite 900 211 North Robinson Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73102 (405) 235-8593 (405) 235-1707 fax STEPHEN D. BACHMAN, OBA #14030 ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFFS