June 5, 2008

Relocation = the sincerest kind of bid for legal reform? Per the Charleston Gazette, "Chesapeake Energy has canceled plans to build its Eastern Division headquarters in Charleston because of a West Virginia Supreme Court ruling on May 22, the company announced today." The court declined to review a jury verdict of $405 million against Chesapeake and another company in a local natural gas royalty dispute.

"While we hold a less significant amount of the liability in the verdict, we do believe it sends a profoundly negative message about the business climate in the state," [company vice president Scott] Rotruck said. "The reality of this decision is that nobody in West Virginia, similarly situated, has a guaranteed right of appeal in the judicial system."