Latest reports reveal
that Exxon has managed to get involved in a fresh lawsuit over Yellowstone
spill. More than 12 eastern Montana landowners have filed a case against Exxon
Mobil Corporation(NYSE:XOM) accusing the company of having ignored warnings
before a pipeline broke and spilled around 1,500 barrels of crude oil into
Yellowstone River.
The lawsuit filed by
property owners along the scenic waterway states that previous year’s spill
could have been evaded if Exxon had followed the lead of other firms and shut
down its pipeline during relentless flooding in July of 2011.
The 14 plaintiffs have
said that they have suffered harm to their properties and livestock operations,
health problems from exposure to oil and damage to wildlife. They are claiming
indefinite compensation for their losses and disciplinary damages against Exxon
to provide a deterrent against spills in future.
Jory Ruggiero of
Western Justice Associated Law firm based in Bozeman, the plaintiff’s attorney
said that Exxon should have known long before the spill took place that the
river floods every spring and generates enormous erosive forces.
Patrick Henretty, Exxon
Mobil spokesman said that the company had not received any lawsuit.
The case was filed in
the State District Court of Gallatin County. Judge Holly Brown has been
assigned to the case.
A second lawsuit that
Exxon is facing is from another group of property owners. The case is pending
in State District Court of Yellowstone County.
Exxon has received
orders to turnover documents that are associated to the accident to attorneys
in the Yellowstone County lawsuit by 22nd October.
As per estimations, 70
miles of the Yellowstone’s riverbank were polluted. Exxon Mobil invested about
$135 million on cleanup work and upgrades to the pipeline where it overlaps the
Yellowstone and other important waterways.
The Exxon spill has resulted
in more property damage than all other accidents in Montana taken place in the
last decade.
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