Exxon Mobil Escapes Jaws of Alligator Lawsuit

The Mississippi Supreme Court on May 15 ruled in favor of Exxon Mobil’s motion for summary judgment after the energy giant had found itself in the jaws of litigious neighbors.  Owners of a 35-acre Magnolia State property claimed in a nuisance lawsuit that they felt menaced by gators allegedly spawning and otherwise emanating from Exxon Mobil’s adjacent property.

But in her ruling, Justice Ann Lamar noted that the defendant had moved to reduce the alligator population in the only legally permissible way it could — by calling the state fish and game department — and that it never had a duty itself to control animals in the wild.
So in Mississippi at least, “wild” still means wild.