Judge: 250 Plaintiffs Can’t Join Maryland Gas Leak Lawsuit

A Maryland judge says 250 plaintiffs can’t join a lawsuit against Exxon months after the company awarded $150 million to 91 families affected by a massive gasoline leak.

Judge Susan Souder ruled there was no good cause for allowing lawyers to add parties to the suit. She cited a Jan. 31 deadline for new plaintiffs to join the suit.

An underground storage tank bled about 26,000 gallons of gasoline over 37 days in Jacksonville, a small, affluent community about 20 miles north of Baltimore, before the leak was discovered in February 2006.

Most of the families received about $1 million plus the value of their home and payment for lifetime medical monitoring. Exxon paid the state $4 million and has spent $38 million on the cleanup.