Lack of Reliance Leads to Dismissal of Fraud Count in Ohio Lease Dispute

CLEVELAND — Landowners’ acknowledgement that they never acted upon allegedly misleading statements and threats by a drilling company’s agents led an Ohio federal court to dismiss a fraud cause of action against Chesapeake Exploration LLC for lack of reliance. Cain v. Chesapeake Exploration LLC, et al., No. 5:12-cv-1699 (N.D. Ohio).

U.S. District Judge John Adams also granted Chesapeake’s motion to dismiss a claim for economic coercion as unrecognized in Ohio law and, in the same Aug. 9 order, denied the landowners’ motion to remand the action to state court.

Charles and Cindy Cain and seven other couples initially filed a …