Judge rejects intervention in Exxon settlement
TRENTON - A New Jersey judge on Friday blocked attempts by environmental groups and a state senator to appeal the state's settlement with ExxonMobil Corp. in a high-profile pollution case.
TRENTON - A New Jersey judge on Friday blocked attempts by environmental groups and a state senator to appeal the state's settlement with ExxonMobil Corp. in a high-profile pollution case.
But the saga isn't over. The groups and State Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak (D., Union) immediately said they would appeal the judge's decision to the Appellate Division.
At issue is a $225 million settlement the state struck with Exxon in March, following a decade of litigation over the oil company's contamination of more than a thousand acres of land at two sites in North Jersey.
Superior Court Judge Michael Hogan, sitting in Mount Holly, approved the settlement in August, ruling that it was fair, reasonable, and in the public interest.
At trial last year, the state sought $8.9 billion in damages. Lesniak, along with the New Jersey Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, Delaware Riverkeeper, and other groups, argue that the smaller settlement represents a sellout to polluters.
On Friday, Hogan denied their motions to intervene for the purpose of appealing his decision, ruling that they lacked standing to bring the lawsuit and that only the state Department of Environmental Protection was authorized to seek natural resource damages under the relevant statute.
Even if the groups did have standing, Hogan said, he still would have denied their motions because the state adequately represents their interests in protecting the environment.
He added that Lesniak's intervention would violate the state constitution's separation-of-powers provision.
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