$30 million Kansas lawsuit is linked to Aubrey McClendon’s indictment

Four months after the fiery death of Oklahoma energy executive Aubrey McClendon, oil and gas investors have cited his federal indictment in a lawsuit seeking $30 million in damages.

Chisholm Partners LLC and 16 investors in the venture sued in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan. Their lawsuit seeks judgment against Chesapeake Energy Corp., which McClendon had led, and others.

Chisholm claims it sold oil and gas leasehold interests to Chesapeake at “artificially depressed” prices because of a conspiracy alleged in the indictment. The sales produced $10 million less than they would have absent a conspiracy, the suit said. It seeks treble damages under the Sherman Antitrust Act.

McClendon was indicted March 1 on charges he led a scheme to coordinate bidding for oil and gas interests with another active bidder, which the lawsuit claims was SandRidge Energy Inc. McClendon died less than a day later when the vehicle he was driving smashed into a bridge embankment in northeast Oklahoma City.

McClendon had owned part of the Oklahoma City Thunder and helped bring the National Basketball Association franchise to Oklahoma City. He also had owned a stake in SolutionsBank of Overland Park, which failed in 2009 under the weight of troubled real estate loans.

According to Chisholm’s lawsuit, Chesapeake Energy and SandRidge Energy were active bidders for oil and gas leasehold interests in the Anadarko Basin Region in Kansas and Oklahoma in 2011 and 2012. By mid-2011, prices had risen to $750 and $1,250 per acre for larger tracts, the suit said.

The suit says Chesapeake and SandRidge then “illegally ‘divided up’ the geographic area” of the Anadarko Basin Region in Kansas and “agreed not to compete and drive up prices” for the leasehold interests there.

The lawsuit seeks damages against Chesapeake Energy Corp., Chesapeake Exploration LLC and Tom L. Ward, formerly CEO of SandRidge Energy. None of the defendants could be reached Thursday.

This story was originally published July 14, 2016 at 5:34 PM with the headline "$30 million Kansas lawsuit is linked to Aubrey McClendon’s indictment."