Supreme Court won’t hear Exxon appeal in groundwater contamination case

The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear ExxonMobil Corp.’s appeal of a $236 million judgment from the state of New Hampshire for contaminating groundwater.

The case is more than a decade old and concerns charges that Exxon allowed the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) to leak into groundwater.

{mosads}A jury awarded the state $236 million in 2013 in the original case. Exxon has maintained it is not responsible for the problems.

Exxon says the state violated its due process rights because it did not establish the company’s liability for every case of MTBE contamination involved in the lawsuit. The company says many of the cases are the responsibility of local gas stations or other businesses.

New Hampshire’s highest court upheld the judgment in 2015.

The Supreme Court, per its usual practice, did not explain why it didn’t take Exxon’s appeal of the state court ruling.

The $236 million verdict is the largest MTBE-related court award in history, according to New Hampshire.

The Supreme Court previously refused in 2014 to hear an appeal from Exxon over an MTBE contamination award in New York City.