After more than seven years, a federal court has given final approval to two class action settlements that would require Chesapeake Energy Corp. to pay Pennsylvania landowners more than $9 million for improperly calculating oil and gas royalties. 

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas certified two settlement classes this week. The cases were initially approved in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, but they were stymied by Chesapeake’s bankruptcy last year. The company has since emerged from those proceedings. 

The Texas court authorized a $6.3 million settlement for landowners and nearly $3 million for attorney fees. 

“The record shows that it is appropriate to finally certify the two proposed classes and approve the...