Chesapeake Appalachia v. Cecil L. HIckman, etc.

KETCHUM, Justice:

This case presents three appeals of an August 7, 2014, order by the Circuit Court of Ohio County. The appeals have been consolidated for consideration.

The complex issues in this case revolve around four overlapping leases to extract oil and gas from land owned by the plaintiff. Each lease has an arbitration clause. The plaintiff brought an action seeking a declaration as to which lease was controlling as to various defendants, and seeking damages from the defendants. The circuit court’s order voided two of the leases, addressed the substantive terms of two others, and…