More than 200 landowners in the Southern Tier are free of their leases with Chesapeake Energy according to officials from Levene, Goulden and Thompson. The announcement came after a two-year legal battle. The company had leased land in the Southern Tier at low prices before the Marcellus Shale became valuable with the advent of high-volume hydraulic fracturing. According to officials at Levene, Goulden and Thompson, landowners were granted a motion for summary judgment in November, and the oil and gas leases were terminated. Chesapeake Energy appealed, saying the state’s ban on hydraulic fracturing essentially continued the leases — at the low prices — automatically. The landowners also appealed a portion that denied unfair business practice claims. Chesapeake Energy agreed to drop the appeal in exchange for a complete release of the leases, which totals more than 13,000 acres.
