Exxon Mobil Corp. attorneys publicly and profusely apologized for a 25,000-gallon gasoline leak at a Baltimore County fuel station in court Wednesday, before starting their defense of a $1 billion lawsuit for emotional damages claimed by affected families.
The gas company has agreed to compensate scores of Jacksonville residents for actual damages stemming from the February 2006 spill, in which officials estimated 675 gallons of fuel leaked every day for 37 days from an underwater storage tank.
“We are sorry,” attorney Jim Sanders said. “We are sorry for the leak. We are sorry that the leak went on for 30 days without being discovered. We are sorry for the magnitude of this leak.”
But Sanders said the company objects to paying punitive damages, which are awarded for willful or malicious misconduct.
His comments came after Steve Snyder, attorney for the Jacksonville residents, laid out his case in a marathon opening statement lasting a day and a half. “What [Snyder] is saying is we are some sort of evil, sinister group of people who don’t care about our neighbors, who don’t care about the environment and are willing to make a choice between safety and profits,” Sanders said. “This is where we draw the line.”
Snyder accused Exxon officials of moving a leak detection system that was underground at the station to the backyard of a gas company official, where it corroded. He said Exxon knew the system was faulty but used it anyway.
He said he planned to present a forensic psychiatrist who would testify to the “emotional drain” the leak left on the Jacksonville community.
“Stress affects peace of mind,” Snyder said. “Long-term stress disrupts the process. It increases the risk of insomnia, obesity, digestive problems, heart disease, depression.”
Several Jacksonville residents declined to comment on the case, citing instructions from Snyder.
Sanders accused Snyder of offering incomplete and at times inaccurate information to the jury. He said the company was unaware that employees had not been trained to use the leak detection system, but began fixing the problem as soon as it was recognized.
“If you have the whole picture, it is an entirely different picture than the one we saw yesterday,” he said.
The trial is expected to last for at least three months.
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