A judge ruled almost 60 civil claims against Exxon Mobil could be sent to federal court, which could be viewed as a setback for the Baltimore County residents suing the company after a massive gasoline spill earlier this year may have contaminated their drinking wells.
The Jacksonville residents? attorney said they are exploring their options after federal Judge Marvin Garbis ruled Friday that the private suits must be sent to a judicial panel in New York, which could forward them to a federal judge hearing cases related to the fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE. Phil Stein, an attorney with the Snyder Slutkin & Snyder firm, said the panel could decide to remand the cases back to state court, where he argued last week they belong.
