MOUNDSVILLE – A Marshall County couple's lawsuit claims an oil and gas lease they signed in 2008 was invalid because they never received the payments promised up front.
Richard E. Long and Mary D. Long filed a lawsuit April 21 in Marshall Circuit Court against Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, SWN Production Company LLC and ALL Resources LLC, alleging breach of contract, unjust enrichment and conversion.
According to the complaint, the Longs signed a lease with ALL Resources in 2008 for the mineral rights to a 113.71-acre plot of land they own in Union District. The suit claims the deal promised an up-front payment of $113,710, of which they have received only $44,544 to date.
The Longs argue that since the full consideration was never paid, the lease is invalid, and that all subsequent assignees of the lease (Chesapeake and SWN) have no claim on the property’s mineral rights. As a result, the suit says the defendants have illegally entered the property to obtain oil and gas production they are not entitled to.
The plaintiffs seek a jury trial, a judicial declaration that the 2008 lease is invalid, and recovery of the full value of oil and gas taken from the property, plus interest and litigation fees. They are represented by attorneys James G. Bordas Jr. and Jeremy M. McGraw Bordas & Bordas PLLC in Wheeling.
Marshall Circuit Court Case number 16-C-67-H