Updating the civil lawsuit filed against Chesapeake Energy, SandRidge Energy and Chesapeake Energy co-founder Tom Ward accusing them of bid-rigging, summons have been served against the three defendants.
Records on file with the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Oklahoma show Ward was served on March 10 while SandRidge Energy as well as Chesapeake Exploraton LLC and Chesapeake Energy were served on March 9. The defendants had 21 days to respond to the lawsuit.
The class-action lawsuit filed by Brian Thieme, a Colorado man who owns property in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma was filed March 3 immediately following the death of Aubrey McClendon and the government’s action to drop his criminal indictment of bid-rigging. The suit copied the criminal indictment, stating the conspiracy allegedly involving McClendon started December 27, 2007 and continued until at least March 31, 2012. The lawsuit also said the conspiracy was 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 violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
