the lawsuits are a non issue, the 500M in loans could be but it should not hurt CHK.  From what I think, the loans were to pay for the developement cost for Aubrey's 2.5% ownership interest and backed by Aubrey's interest and not the 97.5% that CHK has.  Now if Aubrey deflaults on these loans, the bank will assume the 2,5% ownership but not CHK's position.  The only potential impact is that the banks may not put up the $$ for their portion of cost. CHK is looking to lock in LNG deals with asia which could monetize assets, but then again, this could be the next enron.