Chesapeake Energy Corp. and several other defendants are in the middle of a fierce fight in an Oklahoma federal court with a large number of plaintiffs who are alleging the defendants engaged in business actions that stifled competition in the oil and gas sector and violated U.S. antitrust laws.

The litigation calls into question the fairness of the business techniques being used by some energy companies to persuade owners of mineral interests to enter into binding oil and gas leases.