Cabot liable in groundwater contamination case, ordered to pay millions to two families

摘要

In a case closely watched by the oil and gas industry and byrnenvironmental organizations alike, a federal jury has ordered CabotrnOil and Gas to pay a pair of Pennsylvania families more than $4.2rnmillion for contaminating the landowners’ water wells with methanerndue to “negligence in the drilling and completion” of two nearby gasrnwells.rnThe jury on March 10 ordered Cabot to pay $1.3 million each tornhusband and wife Nolen and Monica Ely, as well as $50,000 to each ofrnthe couple’s three children, for “inconvenience and discomfort” andrncreating a “private nuisance.” The verdict also called for Cabot to payrn$720,000 each to Raymond and Victoria Hubert and $50,000 to theirrndaughter Hope.