Beware of tardiness and lawsuits from Chesapeake--right here in Arlington!

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SWAPO2 Neighborhood Rights

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Mar 2, 2008, 6:18:18 AM3/2/08

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When Chesapeake Runs Late on Drilling Promise, They Sue the Owners

Imagine you made an appointment with someone and they were running late. You waited and waited for them to appear in a timely fashion, but they never showed up on time. So you decide to cancel the appointment. Instead of receiving an apology, the other person decides to SUE YOU IN COURT even though they were the ones who were late.

Sound unfair? This is what Chesapeake Energy did to an Arlington family when they took over two years to start a well on their property. If you don't already know, Chesapeake is the company represented by Dale in a recent offer letter to SWAPO2 homeowners. Dale is telling people that only Chesapeake will drill in our area in a timely fashion, that anyone else won't be able to. Then please explain why Chesapeake takes so long to drill in other Arlington area? Why do they have to sue the landowner after their lease expired in two years? You don't have to take our word for it: Read the recent article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram by clicking here.

Why should you as a neighborhood homeowner trust a company that breaks its promises and doesn't drill on time, then sues an Arlington family for protesting their tardiness? And then Chesapeake hires dishonest companies like Dale and Four Sevens to represent them in our area, with little oversight over the ethics of the landmen. Dale also broke its promises to work with the SWAPO2 neighborhood group and bid fairly on leases in our area. They're still making false claims that only their offer has a real drilling site, even though we've seen the Carrizo sites with our own eyes.

No drilling company will guarantee an exact drilling or completion date in their gas lease, so for Dale to claim such a thing is false and misleading. The only reason they want to give people bonus checks faster is because once a check is cashed by the homeowner, there is no way out of the contract, even if the acreage was mismeasured (as reported by many of our neighbors), and even if Chesapeake is late with drilling. And watch out: If they're late drilling and you protest, Chesapeake just might sue you like they did another Arlington family. This is why you need to sign a SWAPO2-endorsed lease with Carrizo where you have some protection from our neighborhood association AFTER the signing, and where the drilling company truly cooperates with the community instead of trying to deceive it.