(Reuters) - A federal judge said Chesapeake Energy Corp need not delay its scheduled annual meeting on Friday to allow shareholders to further investigate the financial dealings of the natural gas company's chief executive, Aubrey McClendon.
Chief Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange of the U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City ruled on Wednesday that shareholders who sought a delay did not show they would suffer "irreparable injury" if the meeting were held as scheduled.
Lawyers for the shareholders and for Chesapeake did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Chesapeake also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Many shareholders have expressed anger about what they consider poor corporate governance and high executive pay at Chesapeake, which has been under pressure to sell assets to reduce debt as falling natural gas prices weigh on profit.
They contended that a delay in the annual meeting was necessary so they could learn more about McClendon's compensation and details about his loans to finance his investments in company wells, which they said suggest a conflict of interest.
Chesapeake countered that shareholders already had abundant information about McClendon's participation in and financing for the Founder Well Participation Program from proxy filings and media reports. It also said his pay was not on the ballot.
In her opinion, the judge noted that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had approved Chesapeake's proxy and that this approval deserved "some weight."
The Oklahoma City-based company, its board and McClendon have been under scrutiny since Reuters reported in April that McClendon had pledged personal stakes in thousands of company wells as collateral for more than $1 billion of loans.
In Wednesday trading, Chesapeake shares closed up $1.21, or 7.1 percent, at $18.21 on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares traded at $19.12 before the first Reuters report on April 18 and their 52-week high is $35.75 set last August.
The case is Deborah G. Mallow IRA SEP Investment Plan v. McClendon et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Oklahoma, No. 12-00436.
(Reporting By Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Bernard Orr and Andre Grenon)
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