So much for the partying after a massive settlement of a lawsuit against an Oklahoma City energy company.
One of the attorneys who sued and brought about a $53 million settlement with Chesapeake Energy in a Texas royalty fight now has gone to court against his co-counsel.
Jim Ward wants a third of the legal fees from the settlement reached In the lawsuits filed by hundreds of residents in Johnson, Tarrant and Dallas counties. He filed suit against Dan McDonald and Fort Worth-based McDonald Law Firm, alleging a breach of a 2014 agreement, according to a report in the Dallas Morning News.
The lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy focused on royalty payments of wells operated by the Oklahoma City-based company. Chesapeake and another firm, Total, agreed to settle claims they had underpaid royalties to 13,000 plaintiffs in the Barnet Shale.
Ward contends it was his team’s work for two years that provided what he called the “blueprint for victory” while McDonald was lead counsel and received “the recognition and spotlight.”
