Exxon Mobil Must Pay $1.5 Billion For Gas Station Leak

TOWSON, Md. — Exxon Mobil Corp. has been ordered to pay more than $1.5 billion in damages to 160 families and businesses affected by a 2006 gasoline leak in Maryland.

Jurors awarded more than $1 billion in punitive damages on Thursday, after earlier awarding $495 million in compensatory damages. The ruling in Baltimore County Circuit Court follows a $150 million award in 2009 involving about 90 households, which Exxon is appealing. The Irving, Texas-based oil company said the facts do not support the latest ruling and that it will appeal it as well.

The 2006 leak occurred in Jacksonville, a small, affluent community about 20 miles north of Baltimore. An underground pipe burst beneath an Exxon gas station, allowing more 26,000 gallons of gasoline to escape. Many residents get their water from wells and the spill led the state to order well monitoring in the area to judge contamination. The plaintiffs had claimed lost property values as well as emotional stress.

"As we've stated throughout the last five years, we sincerely regret this unfortunate accident. We apologize to the Jacksonville community and have devoted significant resources to clean-up, recovery and remediation activities," Exxon said in a statement. "As soon as the leak was discovered, we immediately took responsibility and, sparing no expense, began cleanup activities working under the Maryland Department of Environment's oversight and direction."

Exxon Mobil asked the Maryland Department of the Environment in January 2010 for approval to stop monitoring some of the 248 private wells near the Jacksonville station. MDE agreed to the oil company's request to stop monitoring 130 of the wells. Exxon Mobil also stopped delivering bottled water to those homes.

Exxon shares rose 44 cents to $81.82 in afternoon trading.

Comments

[tangelan]

08:04 AM on 07/13/2011

Has anyone apologized to Exxon yet?

[Chasbeau]

10:54 AM on 07/06/2011

For the years 2008-2010, Exxon's profits totaled over 95 billion. With regard to these judgments, that's all that needs to be said. They also bloat their profits with subsidies and pay very little in taxes. Those commenting here who condone or even praise this behavior are paid shills operating out of an internet sweat shop ... prove otherwise.

[ccairnes]

04:10 PM on 07/04/2011

Good luck collecting that money. Alaskans in the Prince William Sound who lost everything in the Exxon Valdez oil spill had the Supremes reduced the punitive damages to $500 million from the $5 billion original settlement. Exxon Mobil will continue to appeal until you're dead or the amount is so small as to be worthless to you.

[tahoeprogressive]

02:52 PM on 07/04/2011

Several years ago, Shell Oil lost a lawsuit by the South Tahoe Public Utility District for failing to fix leaks in their storage tanks caused by MTBE corrosion, thus polluting the city's drinking water. After the suit, Shell said it was too expensive to do business in the Lake Tahoe area and closed all their stations. Oil companies aren't acting like good neighbors.

[SangZe]

09:06 AM on 07/04/2011

What a joke. Riches to the rich.

[blackranger]

11:35 PM on 07/03/2011

Uh oh, an affluent community, they might get a little pressure from those folks. Would be interesting to follow this one.

[rodjard]

11:31 PM on 07/03/2011

They may get away with this stuff down south or up north
but not in Baltimore. The Valdese should have bankrupted Exon-Mobile.
The Gulf Leak should have bankrupted B. P.
We need more jury's like this.

[heavymetaltruckr]

06:16 PM on 07/03/2011

Someone commented to a post I made earlier to the effect that I, as a driver of a car that requires an oil product to operate, should be held accountable and made to pay ridiculous amounts of money because an oil company spilled its product.

I'll beg to disagree.

I, as a responsible driver, do not pull away from a gas pump (after paying the ridiclously inflated price per gallon) with a hole in my fuel tank, dropping gasoline all over the place as I drive. It is the responsibility of the oil companies, who deal with and handle a product they know (though don't care about) is dangerous to the environment, to handle it and deliver it in a safe, responsible manner, making sure it doesn't enter anything but a fuel tank. If they fail in this responsibility, they need to pay the price.

[sonofsamphm1c]

08:41 PM on 07/05/2011

You think they should pay punitive damages of 1.5 billion, 5 billion in the case of the Valdez, and then you think their prices are ridiculously inflated?

Lol. They should leave your area, and make you walk. Then maybe you would understand that they are there because you demand they be there.

Let's say a piece of road debris punches a hole in your gas tank. You here the clunk, but keep driving. Pretty soon a patrolman pulls you over. The court orders you clean up your spill: $10,000. To teach you a good lesson, they tack on punitive damages of $1,000,000.

Lol. Enjoy your version of justice.

[Dayne]

05:33 PM on 07/03/2011

Quick math for everyone. 1.5 B in settlements for 160 plaintiffs. Well, that equates to about 9.375 M for each plaintiff before all the lawyer fees. So, who is really making out on this lawsuit and how did some people or business suffer that much in losses?

[katielady1969]

08:52 PM on 07/03/2011

"The 2006 leak occurred in Jacksonville, a small, affluent community about 20 miles north of Baltimore. " Emphasis on AFFLUENT...The rich get richer and the poor get screwed!

[Dayne]

09:23 PM on 07/03/2011

I'm still trying to find the original story with some actual details. My family and I have ran a retail gas station in Anchorage, AK for 20 years and I just can't figure out how this whole situation came to pass. Anyway, I'm starting to get a better picture of why the settlement was so huge.

Later,
Dayne

[Smurfoholic]

10:30 PM on 07/03/2011

Don't worry the Supreme Court has Exxon's back. They will drag it out for 20 years and then have the payment reduced to $15,000 per person.

[sonofsamphm1c]

10:11 PM on 07/05/2011

That's about the right amount.

[DANIELISTICALL]

01:09 PM on 07/03/2011

EXXON CLAIMED THEY WOULD PAY FOR THEIR MISTAKES ALSO
Lessons From Exxon Valdez
But in past cases, corporations have been able to talk their way out of hefty damages. In the case of the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 1989, for example, Exxon spent more than a decade weaseling its way out of paying $5 billion in punitive damages to plaintiffs, which included more than 34,000 fishermen, natives, local governments, etc.
Exxon appealed a 1994 verdict in which an Anchorage jury awarded $5
billion in punitive damages to the plaintiffs; the damages were then
halved to $2.5 billion. Then the company appealed to the Supreme Court, which capped damages at a little more than $500 million. (The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals later ruled that the company was still
obligated to pay $470 million for interest on the damages.)

[Dayne]

05:37 PM on 07/03/2011

Many people did suffer from The Spill, but there was a lot of people and groups simply holding out their hands for corporate money, anything for a free buck.

[baileywick]

09:19 PM on 07/03/2011

"Many people", "a lot of people and groups".
Quit crying for a corporation that just passes their fines on to consumers.
They screwed up and should pay for it.
"Many people did suffer", more than you know. Did you?
A lot of people and groups" deserve the profits they lost. You don't know how many.
All your posts today stick up for this crooked, creepy corporation that poisons the sea, the rivers, and soil. BIOYA

[Smurfoholic]

10:34 PM on 07/03/2011

As you lose cry and sleep over the great injustice done to a model American Corporation take heart. Remember they are not crying or losing sleep for destroying people's lives.

So chin up and remember that the Supreme Court has their backs (and yours too if you are a corporation).

[Marjorie Sager]

11:59 AM on 07/03/2011

If this was a mom and pop owned gas station the settlement would be much smaller.

[Kevin Schmidt]

01:24 PM on 07/03/2011

Really? Can you prove that or are you just making up stuff? Do you work for Exxon?

[Dayne]

05:31 PM on 07/03/2011

Simple. Small, private, retail gas statations carry mandatory spill insurance for cases like this (though how they missed a leak of this magnitude is beyond me). Now, that insurance does not go up to 1.5 B. The plaintiffs went after Exxon because it is a corporation with much deeper pockets. A private mom/pop station would have been out of business, end of story. Just so you know, my family has owned and operated a gas station for 28 years, so I know what I'm talking about.

Dayne

[chrisv7772]

11:07 AM on 07/03/2011

The truly sad part is Exxon will keep appealing the decision until they get their "preferred judge" who will overturn the prior rulings and throw out much of the evidence making it extremely difficult for those poor people to continue. They'll then offer them a pittance of what was originally awarded them and if they don't accept it they'll wind up with nothing. If you don't think this is how the system now works go check out some prior rulings to find out what actually happened in the appellate coourt. Doesn't anyone wonder how a judge with a $200,000 salary affords a million dollar home, multiple vacation homes, $100,000 cars and more?

[pugadam]

10:42 AM on 07/03/2011

We are the really to pay for damages or pollution,because of higher prices or cheating on pumps gas.You fill your tank with $30-$40 ,but only receive gas for $20-$30.What a shame!.

[schatsie]

10:52 AM on 07/03/2011

Don't kid yourself....this is just a fraction of their profits and they WILL appeal it for 20 years and get it reduced to pennies on the dollar by our corrupt Supreme Court......JUST LIKE THEY DID FOR THE ALASKA SPILL......

[hotnewzs001]

09:33 AM on 07/03/2011

Exxon Mobil is being ordered to pay more than $1.5 billion in damages to 160 families and businesses affected by a 2006 gasoline leak in Maryland.Click to Full View Report at : http://bit.ly/iQHNO5

[hotnewzs001]

09:33 AM on 07/03/2011

The award in Baltimore County Circuit Court follows a $150 million award in 2009 involving about 90 households Read out full Post at : http://tinyurl.com/5rbm68z