Federal judge gives partial court victory to Seventy Seven Energy

The Oklahoma City energy firm spun off from Chesapeake Energy nearly 5 years ago has won a partial victory in a federal court lawsuit filed over its retirement and savings plan.

Oklahoma City U.S. District Judge Timothy D. DeGiusti granted Seventy Seven Energy’s request to dismiss some of the claims made in a class-action lawsuit filed by Kathleen J. Meyers .

She contended Seventy Seven Energy breached fiduciary duties to the retirement plan when it bought and held Chesapeake stock following the spin-off.

Meyers claimed in an amended petition that company leaders “knew or should have known that Chesapeake was not and had never been a suitable and appropriate investment for the plan.” She contended the value of the shares in her plan “diminished considerably” since the spin-off. Her lawsuit alleged it was a violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Judge DeGiusti ruled Meyers failed to state any plausible ERISA claim against the Company’s retirement committee.