Texas family wins $2.9 million fracking lawsuit, setting stage for more lawsuits to follow

[freshwest]

By Tom Boggioni
Friday, May 30, 2014

A north Texas family won a $2.9 million lawsuit against a Plano-based oil company after convincing a jury that emissions from the company’s fracking operations were making them sick.

According to Inside Climate News, the Parr family of Wise County, Texas, filed 13 complaints with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), between February 2010 and July 2011, claiming that air pollution from gas and oil operations near their ranch were responsible for breathing difficulties, nausea, nosebleeds, ringing ears, and rashes...

Despite being warned by their attorney that lawsuits against oil and gas industry rarely succeed, the Parrs’ sued Aruba Petroleum and last month a Dallas County jury awarded them $2.9 million in damages after finding the company “intentionally created a private nuisance” affecting the family’s health.

Robert Percival, director of the University of Maryland’s Environmental Law Program said, “When you don’t have a strong regulatory system, a system to prevent what happened to this family, the only place left to turn for help is the courts...”

More at link:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/30/texas-family-wins-2-9-million-fracking-lawsuit-setting-stage-for-more-lawsuits-to-follow/

Something good coming from that sector of the state.

[freshwest]

1. Admittedly, I've never had an interest in North Texas politics.

This guy below is not a good sign, neither is Bush as the Texas Land Commissioner:

The Man About to Represent N.Texas Thinks That His Opponent Was Controlled By Satan



Those are two of the major takeaways from Forrest Wilder’s Texas Observer piece on Bob Hall, the Tea Party politico who just unseated three-term State Sen. Bob Deuell in the District Two GOP runoff. This graph pretty much explains it all:

He doesn’t understand “why the who are coming here want to turn it into a country like where they came from.” He thinks Obama is using public schools for “communist indoctrination.” He thinks bike paths are part of a United Nations plot. He believes a “confederacy of states” can nullify federal laws. He thinks Bob Deuell was controlled by Satan.

I took a look at his “Texas Values” manifesto on his website, and found this tidbit, too:

- “American English” should be the official language; government materials should be published only in “American English.”

Since there’s no Democrat in the race, Hall is all but assured the seat. Texas Senate District Two represents parts of eight counties, including Rockwall and Dallas counties. Mesquite, Rowlett, Garland: he’s all yours.

Read more:

http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2014/05/30/the-man-whos-about-to-represent-north-texas-in-the-state-senate-thinks-bike-paths-are-a-un-plot-and-that-his-opponent-was-controlled-by-satan/

Thread was locked, but here is where I first read it:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014815837