Hit with lawsuits accusing it of antitrust violations and allegations of bid-rigging, Chesapeake Energy has been successful in getting eleven class-action suits consolidated in Oklahoma City federal court. U.S. District Judge Vickie Miles-LaGrange issued the order after several suits were filed following the March federal indictment of former Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon who died later in a traffic crash in Oklahoma City.
The first suit to be filed after McClendon’s death was by Colorado resident Brian Thieme who owns land near Alva. He sued based on an oil and gas lease he made with Chesapeake in 2011. Thieme’s suit accused Chesapeake as well as SandRidge Energy and former SandRidge CEO Tom L. Ward as well as 1 through 50 John Does of “a conspiracy to rig bids and depress the market for purchases of oil and natural gas leasehold interests and properties containing producing oil and natural gas wells.”
In her order, the Judge said future lawsuits could be added to the consolidated case which will be known as: In re Anadarko Basin Oil and Gas Lease Antitrust Litigation. It is also case number CV-16-209-M in the Western District of Oklahoma.
Thieme’s attorney in the case is Dallas lawyer Warren t. Burns.
“Judge Miles-Lagrange’s order will permit this case to move forward efficiently and expeditiously,” said Burns. “We are currently working on a consolidated amended complaint that we will file within 45 days of the order. And we are engaging with the defendants on various issues in an effort to move forward.”
It’s not the first time Judge Miles-Lagrange has consolidated lawsuits against Chesapeake Energy. She did the same thing in 2012 when 13 shareholder lawsuits were filed against Chesapeake’s board of directors. The suits were filed following reports that then-CEO McClendon had been given $1.1 billion in personal loans by the board against his stake in Chesapeake wells.
