CHESAPEAKE ENERGY CORP

Litigation and Regulatory Proceedings

We are involved in various regulatory proceedings, lawsuits and disputes arising in the ordinary course of our business operations, including commercial disputes, personal injury claims, royalty claims, property damage claims and contract actions. The majority of the legal proceedings that were in existence prior to the Petition Date were settled during the Chapter 11 Cases or will be resolved in connection with the claims reconciliation process before the Bankruptcy Court. Any allowed claim related to such prepetition litigation will be treated in accordance with the Plan.

In connection with the Southwestern Merger, two lawsuits have been filed by purported stockholders of the Company or Southwestern against the Company and/or the members of the Company’s board of directors: Gerald Joseph Lovoi v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., et al., No. 1:24-cv-01896 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 13, 2024); Jeffrey Schantz v. Gass et al., No. 155009/2024 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. May 30, 2024). Included in one or both of the complaints were allegations that the defendants violated Sections 14(a) and 20(a) of the Exchange Act and were negligent in misrepresenting or omitting material facts under Florida common law, because the registration statement filed in connection with the Southwestern Merger allegedly omitted or misstated material information. On June 10, 2024, the complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of New York was dismissed. On June 24, 2024, the complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York was dismissed.

See Note 5 of the notes to our condensed consolidated financial statements included in Item 1 of Part I of this report for information regarding our estimation and provision for potential losses related to litigation and regulatory proceedings. Based on management’s current assessment, we are of the opinion that no pending or threatened lawsuit or dispute relating to our business operations is likely to have a material adverse effect on our future consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The final resolution of such matters could exceed amounts accrued, however, and actual results could differ materially from management’s estimates.

Environmental Contingencies

The nature of the natural gas and oil business carries with it certain environmental risks for us and our subsidiaries. We have implemented various policies, programs, procedures, training and audits to reduce and mitigate such environmental risks. We conduct periodic reviews, on a company-wide basis, to assess changes in our environmental risk profile. Environmental reserves are established for environmental liabilities for which economic losses are probable and reasonably estimable. We manage our exposure to environmental liabilities in acquisitions by using an evaluation process that seeks to identify pre-existing contamination or compliance concerns and address the potential liability. Depending on the extent of an identified environmental concern, we may, among other things, exclude a property from the transaction, require the seller to remediate the property to our satisfaction in an acquisition or agree to assume liability for the remediation of the property.