By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Oct. 20 -- A US District Court in Manhattan found ExxonMobil Corp. liable for contaminating New York City’s ground water with methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) and awarded the city $104.7 million in damages, New York City officials said.
On Oct. 19, the New York City’s Law Department said a jury awarded the compensatory damages after an 11-week trial in a product-liability case. The city sued ExxonMobil for the costs of removing MTBE from drinking water wells in southeast Queens.
The case was tried before Judge Shira Scheindlin of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The trial focused on six water wells.
A spokesman for ExxonMobil downstream issued a statement saying the company was disappointed with the decision, and it will consider all its legal options.
“As we’ve maintained throughout, our service stations were not the source of the MTBE contamination” at the six wells, ExxonMobil said. “We do not believe we should be required to compensate the City of New York for someone else’s contamination.”
Several other large oil companies previously settled claims from New York City against them for a total of $15 million.
