Exxon Can’t Escape Pegasus Pipeline Rupture Class Action Lawsuits

A federal judge has rejected a motion by Exxon Mobil Corp. to dismiss two class action lawsuits that were filed after the March rupture of the Pegasus pipeline that spilled as much as 19,000 barrels of crude oil in Arkansas.

On Oct. 31, 2013, U.S. District Judge Brian S. Miller found that the plaintiffs in two separate class action lawsuits related to the Pegasus pipeline rupture in Mayflower, Ark. had made adequate claims to survive Exxon’s motions to dismiss.

The first class action lawsuit was filed June 27, 2013, by Arkansas resident Rudy Webb and his wife, who claimed that Exxon breached the terms of its easement contract, which allegedly required the company to repair, operate, or replace the pipeline that ran through his property. They claimed that Exxon’s alleged breach of contract resulted in “the worst oil and tar sands spill in Arkansas history.”

Exxon moved to dismiss the Webbs’ class action lawsuit, arguing that their request to get Exxon to stop running the pipeline was preempted by federal law, which only grants responsibility of the safety of interstate pipelines to the Transportation Secretary. Judge Miller rejected this argument, finding that the issue of relief could only be determined if the plaintiffs succeeded at trial. Because it was not clear that the plaintiffs sought to regulate pipeline safety, “it would be premature to dismiss plaintiffs’ request for equitable relief until the parties have been given an opportunity to develop the record and put the case to the jury,” the judge said.

A second Pegasus pipeline class action lawsuit, led by named plaintiffs Kathryn Chunn and Ellen Burgess, was filed by plaintiffs who owned property within a three-mile radius of the pipeline rupture. Exxon moved to dismiss this class action lawsuit, claiming that oil from the spill did not come into contact with some of the proposed class members’ properties, precluding them from making a claim for diminished property value. According to Exxon, plaintiffs making such claims must show permanent physical damage. Judge Miller also rejected this argument, finding that the plaintiffs’ claims were sufficient.

The plaintiffs are represented by Phillip Duncan, Richard Quintus, William R. Pointer, Justin C. Zachary and Timothy P. Reed of Duncan Firm PA and Thomas P. Thrash and Marcus N. Bozeman of Thrash Law Firm PA.

The Exxon Pegasus Pipeline Rupture Class Action Lawsuits are Rudy F. Webb, et al. v. Exxon Mobil Corporation, et al., Case No. 4:13-cv-00232-BSM, and Ellen Burgess, et al. v. Exxon Mobil Corporation, et al., Case No. 4:13-cv-00199-BSM, both in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Western Division.