October 29, 2025
On July 22, 2025, Judge Robert J. Colville of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania granted preliminary approval of a $167.5 million all-cash settlement to resolve claims that EQT Corporation overstated the synergistic benefits of its $6.7 billion merger with Rice Energy, another natural gas drilling company operating in the Marcellus shale of Western Pennsylvania, in violation of the federal securities laws.
The $167.5 million settlement is the largest securities class action recovery ever in the history of the Western District of Pennsylvania and the 14th largest in the history of the Third Circuit.
As co-lead counsel in the case, Cohen Milstein represents a lead plaintiff group consisting of the Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Annuity Fund, Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Pension Fund, Government of Guam Retirement Fund, and Cambridge Retirement System.
In particular, the case alleged that from June 19, 2017 through June 17, 2019, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and omissions regarding EQT’s drilling performance and capability, and about the purported benefits of acquiring Rice Energy, a competitor. The alleged false and misleading statements concerned, among other things, the combined company’s ability to drill 1,200 lateral wells at an average lateral length of 12,000 feet, and to realize $2.5 billion in synergies. The complaint alleged that, after the acquisition, following disappointing financial results midway through the class period, former Rice executives launched and ultimately won a proxy contest to take control of the combined company, citing in part EQT’s failure to seek or realize the stated synergies. The complaint asserted that Defendants’ alleged misrepresentations and omissions caused investors to purchase EQT common stock at artificially inflated prices and/or to approve EQT’s proposed Acquisition. The complaint further alleged that the truth was revealed to the public in a series of partially corrective disclosures on October 25, 2018, February 5, 2019, and June 17, 2019, that caused the price of EQT common stock to decline, causing investors to suffer damages when the truth was revealed.
In arriving at this settlement, Cohen Milstein and its co-lead counsel reviewed over 7 million pages of documents, subpoenaed over 50 third parties, participated in over 50 depositions of fact and expert witnesses, retained and worked with experts on the subjects of damages, loss causation, natural gas drilling, and corporate due diligence, and thoroughly reviewed the applicable facts and law. Furthermore, the parties extensively briefed motions to dismiss, for class certification, for summary judgment, and to exclude expert opinions and testimony.
During the hard-fought litigation, the Court certified the class on August 11, 2022, and on September 23, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied Defendants’ petition for interlocutory review of the Court’s order granting class certification.
The case team at Cohen Milstein included Steven J. Toll, Daniel S. Sommers, S. Douglas Bunch, Christina D. Saler, Benjamin F. Jackson, and Alexandra Gray. A hearing to consider final approval of the settlement is set for October 30, 2025.