A federal judge in Erie has granted final approval of a class action settlement estimated to be worth more than $22 million in a suit brought by landowners in the Marcellus Shale who claimed that their natural gas leases with Range Resources imposed unfair royalty calculations.

The suit, Frederick v. Range Resources , was filed on behalf of more than 25,000 landowners and initially challenged the validity of the leases under the Pennsylvania Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act.