Court to Allow Punitive Damage Arguments From Farmers in Water Contamination Case

摘要

A trial court should have allowed the plaintiff in a groundwater contamination case to present evidence and arguments on punitive damages issues before the court submitted those issues to the jury, a California appeals court held in an unpublished opinion (Starrh & Starrh Cotton Growers v. Aera Energy LLC, Cal. Ct. App., Nos. F058778, F059660,1/25/12). Starrh and Starrh Cotton Growers alleged that Aera Energy LLC contaminated the groundwater under their fields by storing wastewater from oil extraction in unlined ponds close to Starrh's property.