Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—W.D. Okla.: Leasehold interest bid rigging suits against Chesapeake consolidated, (Apr 18, 2016)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

The federal district court in Oklahoma City has consolidated 11 putative class action suits against oil and natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy and competitor SandRidge Energy Corporation for allegedly conspiring to rig bids and unlawfully depress the prices for the sale of mineral leasehold interests (Thieme v. Chesapeake Energy Corporation, April 15, 2016, LaGrange, V.).

Chesapeake Energy Corporation and SandRidge Energy Corporation are oil and natural gas exploration and production companies.

On March 1, 2016, a grand jury in Oklahoma City indicted Aubrey McClendon, founder and former chief executive officer of Chesapeake, on charges of conspiring to rig bids for oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma. Following the indictment, Brian Thieme, as well as other royalty owners, filed a series of suits against Chesapeake and competitor SandRidge Energy, alleging that the companies conspired to rig bids and depress the prices for the sale mineral leasehold interests for their own profit.

Upon the plaintiffs’ unopposed motion to consolidate, the court consolidated the following actions with Thieme v. Chesapeake Energy Corp.: Beadles v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Case No. CIV-16-238-M; Beadles v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Case No. CIV-16-238-M; Lowery v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Case No. CIV-16-284-M; Garvin v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Case No. CIV-16-297-M; The Ruby L. Stucky Trust Dated April 22, 1997 v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Case No. CIV-16-293-M; Powers v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Case No. CIV-16-301-M; Crandall v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Case No. CIV-16-306-M; Behrenbrinker v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Case No. CIV-16-320-M; Herzog v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Case No. CIV-16-325-M; White v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Case No. CIV-16-351-M; and Mahoney-Killian, Inc. v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., Case No. CIV-16-358-M;

The court determined that consolidation was appropriate, since the cases involved common questions of law and fact. The consolidated action will now be known as In re Anadarko Basin Oil and Gas Lease Antitrust Litigation, and the plaintiffs were ordered to file a single consolidated complaint under the new caption within 45 days.

The case is No. 5:16-cv-00209-M.

Attorneys: Daniel H. Charest (Burns Charest LLP) for Brian Thieme. Bradley S. Keller (Byrnes Keller Cromwell LLP) and Timothy J. Bomhoff (McAfee & Taft) for Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Chesapeake Exploration LLC.

Companies: Chesapeake Energy Corp.; Chesapeake Exploration LLC

Cases: Antitrust OklahomaNews