Earthquake Damage Lawsuit Filed in Logan County

A second lawsuit has been filed this week over earthquake damage in central Oklahoma. The suit was filed in Logan County District Court by Lisa Griggs and April Marler and is asking a judge to allow it to be a class-action lawsuit against Devon Energy, Chesapeake Operating LLC, New Dominion and SandRidge Energy.

Griggs and Marler maintained their homes have been damaged due to earthquakes “caused by the Defendants’ negligent wastewater disposal operations.” The suit also alleges the operations continue and so are the earthquakes.

To avoid a challenge that the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is not the proper place for such a challenge, the suit said “Jurisdiction in this Court is proper. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendants as they do substantial business in the state of Oklahoma.” The suit said the OCC “does not have jurisdiction over the property damage claims asserted in this complaint.”

The suit also referred to a State Supreme Court ruling made last year in which the state’s first lawsuit against energy companies over earthquake damage in Prague was remanded to Lincoln County District Court rather than the Corporation Commission. The legal action also blamed the increased injection well operations on hydraulic fracturing.