Residents file $1B in suits against Exxon Mobil

More than 50 Jacksonville, Md., families are each filing lawsuits against Exxon Mobil Corp., seeking more than $1 billion combined in damages after a massive gas leak earlier this year went undetected for more than a month, a representative announced Tuesday.

The suits allege “intentional, egregious and repeated misconduct” in connection with the 25,000-gallon leak at an Exxon-owned station in February, according to a statement released by Laura Crovo, a spokeswoman for the law firm Snyder Slutkin & Snyder. The Baltimore-based firm is representing families that live closest to the station, the statement says, and the suits will also name station operator Storto Enterprises.