In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether ("MTBE) Prod. Liab. Litig., MDL 1358
| Decision Date | 02 August 2021 |
| Docket Number | Master File 1:00-1898,MDL 1358 |
| Parties | In Re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether ("MTBE") Products Liability Litigation v. Exxon Mobil Corporation, et al., Case No. 14 Civ. 6228 (VSB) This document relates to Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General
Linda C. Barrett
Pennsylvania Governor's Office of General Counsel
Michael Axline
Miller & Axline, P.C.
Daniel Berger
Tyler E. Wren
Berger & Montague, P.C.
Stewart L. Cohen
Robert L. Pratter
Michael Coren
Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C.
Counsel for Plaintiff Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
James P. Tuite
Katherine M. Katchen
Matthew A. Scarola
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Counsel for Defendant Lukoil Americas Corporation
James A. Pardo
Lisa A. Gerson
McDermott Will & Emery LLP
Counsel for Certain Defendants
This is a consolidated multi-district litigation (“MDL”) relating to contamination-actual or threatened-of groundwater from various defendants' use of the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (“MTBE”) and/or tertiary butyl alcohol, a product formed by the breakdown of MTBE in water. In this case, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (“the Commonwealth” or “Pennsylvania”) alleges that defendants' use and handling of MTBE contaminated, or threatens to contaminate, groundwater within its jurisdiction. Before me are (1) Defendant Lukoil Americas Corporation's (“LAC”) motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim; and (2) the motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim of certain other Defendants.[1]
For the reasons that follow, the motions are each GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Specifically, the Commonwealth has sufficiently alleged that Defendant Getty Petroleum Marketing Inc.'s veil may be pierced for jurisdictional purposes; therefore, LAC's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction is DENIED. However, because the Commonwealth has failed to plausibly allege facts sufficient to warrant a finding that Defendant Getty Petroleum Marketing Inc.'s veil may be pierced for liability purposes and the Commonwealth has not properly pled successor liability, LAC's motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim is GRANTED. Because the Commonwealth has once again failed to allege that any Defendants possessed or controlled the MTBE release sites that the Commonwealth alleged created a nuisance, Certain Defendants' motion to dismiss Count III is GRANTED.[2] Because the Commonwealth has not set forth any specific allegations of deceptive and misleading conduct that are actionable under the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (“UTPCPL”), Certain Defendants' motion to dismiss Counts VI and VII against them are GRANTED.[3] Finally, because the Commonwealth has adequately alleged that the Insurance Defendants[4] were required to disclose information about their private insurance coverage in response to the Commonwealth's request for information on subrogation, Certain Defendants' motion to dismiss the Commonwealth's claim under the Pennsylvania Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act is DENIED.
MTBE is an additive used to oxygenate and/or enhance the octane of gasoline. (SAC ¶¶ 138, 140.)[6] It can be introduced into the environment “through disposals deposits, releases, leaks, overfills, spills and evaporative releases . . . from a variety of sources, principally . . . gasoline storage and delivery systems.” (Id. ¶ 144.) When it encounters water, MTBE behaves differently from the other constituents of gasoline. (Id. ¶ 145.) It separates from those constituents, dissolves easily, does not readily adhere to soil...
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