Some residents of Jacksonville, Maryland, won’t be getting a $1 billion jury award for punitive damages from Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM).
The verdict stemmed from the contamination of drinking water supplied to 160 homeowners due to a gasoline leak, Bloomberg noted. The oil giant argued that the 2011 jury award was excessive. A state appeals court agreed and ordered a new trial in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
Additionally, the appeals court reverse the jury’s finding of fraud against Exxon Mobil. That, too, will be a question in the new trial.
The leak, which lasted 37 days, caused 26,000 gallons of gasoline to seep into groundwater in the rural Maryland community. The jury awarded residents $495 million in compensatory damages in addition to the punitive award.
In November, Exxon Mobil informed the Iraqi government that it would sell its interest in the $50 billion West Qurna-1 oilfield, which currently produces 400,000 barrels of crude every day, to other oil companies.
Shares of Exxon Mobil rose fractionally in Wednesday morning trading.
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