|
TRENTON
-- A Superior Court judge has ruled that
a Spanish oil conglomerate and its Argentinean
subsidiary must remain defendants in a lawsuit
brought on behalf of the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) against various corporate
defendants over the intentional discharge
of pollutants -- including the known carcinogen
dioxin -- into the Passaic River.
Repsol
YPF, S.A., based in Spain, and its subsidiary
YPF, S.A., of Argentina, argued in motions
before Superior Court Judge Donald Goldman
in Essex County that they are not subject
to the jurisdiction of the New Jersey courts.
However,
Goldman found that the court does have jurisdiction
over Repsol and YPF, which previously acquired
two New-Jersey-based defendants in the state’s
Passaic River lawsuit -- Maxus Energy Corporation
and Tierra Solutions, Inc. In ruling, Judge
Goldman accepted the argument of lawyers
for the state that the court has jurisdiction
because Maxus and Tierra are essentially
corporate shells controlled by Repsol and
YPF and dependent on them for financial
support. In addition, the judge ruled that
the court has jurisdiction because of state
allegations that Repsol and YPF have stripped
the assets of “resident-defendant”
Maxus in order to leave Maxus asset-poor
and unable to satisfy any judgment or liability
associated with contamination of the Passaic
River. Goldman ruled that such accusations,
which essentially allege harm done to the
State of New Jersey by Repsol and YPF, also
establish the New Jersey court’s jurisdiction.
”This
is an important ruling as we continue to
pursue costs and damages incurred by the
citizens of New Jersey because these defendants
intentionally discharged dioxin -- one of
the most toxic substances on earth -- into
the Passaic River,” said Attorney
General Anne Milgram.
”The
ruling ensures that Repsol and YPF -- foreign
oil conglomerates with substantial assets
-- will not be allowed to sidestep our lawsuit
alleging their responsibility in contaminating
one of the state’s most vital environmental
resources,” Milgram said.
Dioxin
– particularly a form of it known
as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD),
which is among the listed contaminants in
the state’s Passaic River lawsuit
-- is one of the most toxic chemicals ever
developed. Human exposure to dioxin at extremely
low concentrations can cause severe health
effects, including cancer and reproductive
damage.
Filed
in December 2005, the state’s complaint
charges that TCDD, the pesticide DDT and
various other pesticides and chemicals were
intentionally discharged into the Passaic
River from facilities in Newark, for which
the defendant companies, including Maxus,
Tierra and the Occidental Chemical Corp.,
are responsible.
Dioxin concentrations in Passaic River fish
and crabs are among the highest reported
in the world, and present a substantial
danger to the public and wildlife. As a
result of the pollution at issue in the
state’s lawsuit, DEP has been forced
to impose fishing and crabbing bans in the
Passaic River for more than 20 years. Despite
the ban and related public awareness efforts
by the state, many people have continued
to catch and consume Passaic River fish
and crabs.
According
to the state’s complaint, dioxin pollution
in Passaic River and Newark Bay caused by
the various defendants has also had a continuing,
adverse impact on New Jersey commerce and
its port industry.
The
state is represented in the Passaic River
litigation by Special Counsel Bill Jackson,
John Gilmour and Michael Dobbs of the Houston
law firm of Jackson, Fischer, Gilmour &
Dobbs, PC, Michael Gordon from the law firm
of Gordon & Gordon in Springfield, N.J.,
and Deputy Attorney General John Dickinson
of the Division of Law.
#
# # |
