Team Effort Compels Dismissal of Environmental Lawsuit (04/29/05)

Deasey, Mahoney & Bender, Ltd. recently contributed to a major victory on behalf of one of its petrochemical clients. Plaintiff was the owner of a drinking water well in southeastern Pennsylvania. It alleged that historical petroleum releases from an underground pipeline operated by our client and located a half mile away from the well had caused the water in the well to become undrinkable. The lawsuit sought damages in the "seven figures."

Discovery and further investigation convinced us early in the litigation that the pipeline leaks could not possibly have caused damage to the well water because the area of the leaks was not "hydrogeologically connected" to the water in the well. Working closely with in-house counsel and environmental experts, as well as an outside hydrogeology consultant, Deasey, Mahoney & Bender, Ltd. crafted a confidential settlement agreement with the plaintiff whereby the parties would jointly conduct a 48-hour "pump test" on the water well while simultaneously monitoring the water levels in certain wells on our client’s distant property. Under the agreement, if the pump test failed to show any "drawdown" in our client’s wells during the pump test, then the lack of any connection between the wells would be established and the plaintiff would discontinue the lawsuit, with prejudice.

The pump test, as predicted, did not result in any drawdown, and the plaintiff was compelled to dismiss the action as required by the agreement. Our client was spared potentially significant legal and expert witness costs, not to mention a potential adverse judgment had the case proceeded to trial.

This case presents a good example of how teamwork, creativity and proactive use of an opportunity can sometimes yield early and inexpensive settlements.