In two separate actions, almost 100 plaintiffs filed suit against Chesapeake asserting that Chesapeake had breached the lease by failing to match third-party offers to lease the plaintiffs' mineral interests. The lease language was the same as was interpreted in Stewart v. Chesapeake Exploration, LLC, 542 F. App'x 468, 182 O.G.R. 352 (6th Cir. 2013). The language gave to the lessee the power to match third-party offers to lease. As in Stewart, the plaintiffs argue that by failing to match such third-party offers, the lessee has breached the terms of the lease. Plaintiffs argue that if the lessee refuses to match any third-party offer during the primary term, then the lessor is entitled to an immediate termination of the lease.
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