ATRA Renews Criticism of New Hampshire’s No-Injury Lawsuit against Energy Company

ATRA spokesman Darren McKinney appeared on WKBK-Radio’s Dan Mitchell Show this week to renew his organization’s criticism of New Hampshire’s “meritless, no-injury” lawsuit against ExxonMobil for alleged groundwater contamination from leaky gas station storage tanks.
Among other things, McKinney pointed out that water authorities throughout the state have consistently reported that New Hampshire’s water is safe to drink and that the lawsuit targeted the giant energy company’s “deep pockets” as opposed to individual gas station owners who actually control the conditions of their storage tanks.

McKinney also pointed out that the state’s politicians are clamoring to spend much of the record $236 million verdict — certainly to be appelaed — on all sorts of things that have nothing to do with groundwater clean-up.
Finally, McKinney railed against the state’s hiring of private-sector personal injury lawyers on a contingency-fee basis, as opposed to using salaried lawyers on the attorney general’s staff, to prosecute the litigation.  When profit-driven outside counsel pursue maximum damages in their self-interest, he said, justice in the public interest is too often sacrificed.  And when jurisdiction’s develop Judicial Hellholes reputations for extorting businesses, it shouldn’t surprise anyone when businesses then become less likely to expand, locate and create jobs there.
Click here to listen to the full 30-minute radio segment.