Group of Ark. residents sue Exxon after oil spill
Dozens of Arkansas residents sue Exxon after pipeline ruptured, spilled oil in town in March
MAYFLOWER, Ark. (AP) -- Dozens of residents and property owners are suing ExxonMobil Pipeline Company two months after a pipeline ruptured and spilled thousands of barrels of oil in the central Arkansas city of Mayflower.
Attorneys for a number of residents and property owners filed the lawsuit in Faulkner County on Tuesday seeking damages after the Exxon Mobil Corp. unit's Pegasus pipeline ruptured on March 29 and spilled the oil in Mayflower.
Shawn Daniels, one of the lawyers for the residents and property owners, said Wednesday that he didn't have an estimate of how much money his clients are seeking.
"That's one of the things that we just won't know," Daniels said. "If it was strictly an appraisal issue on X number of houses, then you could mathematically compute it, but there are differences ... At this early stage, there's just no way to have any kind of a figure in mind."
The lawsuit says some of the Mayflower residents who are suing have had headaches, nausea and other health problems as a result of the spill. The lawsuit also says some residents have experienced property damage and declines in property value.
The residents and homeowners are seeking a jury trial.
ExxonMobil spokesman Aaron Stryk said the company had not yet seen the lawsuit as of Wednesday evening and declined to comment.
Mayflower is about 25 miles northwest of Little Rock.
