HOUSTON (AP) — A federal judge ordered Exxon Mobil to pay a $14.25 million civil penalty Tuesday in an 11-year-old lawsuit alleging it violated the Clean Air Act for eight years at its flagship Baytown, Texas, refinery.
In setting the penalty, which would go to the U.S. Treasury, U.S. District Judge David Hittner of Houston reduced a previous award he handed down in 2017 of almost $20 million. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that ruling on Exxon's appeal last July and remanded the case to Hittner.
In a statement, Exxon Mobil spokesman Todd Spitler said the company is “currently reviewing the decision and considering next steps.” Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas, the nonprofit advocacy group that filed the suit in 2010, said he expected further appeals.
The group Environment Texas sued the Irving, Texas-based company in 2010. After a trial of almost three weeks in 2014, Hittner ruled against the company and ordered the larger penalty two years later. The appeals court remanded the case to Hittner last July.
“Exxon has been fighting this case for 11 years now, refusing to take any responsibility for spewing millions of pounds of illegal pollution into Texas communities,” Metzger said in a statement. “We call on Exxon to finally stop its scorched-earth litigation tactics, pay its penalty and drop these endless appeals.”
In his latest opinion, filed Tuesday, Hittner said Environment Texas, the Sierra Club and the National Environmental Law Center had proved thousands of instances of illegal flaring and unauthorized releases of pollutants causing smoke, chemical odors, ground-level ozone, and respiratory problems.
Exxon Mobil ordered to pay $14.25m penalty in pollution case
Exxon Mobil ordered to pay $14.25m penalty in pollution case
Closing Bell: Saudi main index rises to close at 11,251
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index rose on Thursday, gaining 84.27 points, or 0.75 percent, to close at 11,251.81.
The total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR5.38 billion ($1.43 billion), as 188 of the stocks advanced and 67 retreated.
Similarly, the Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu gained 157.22 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 23,643.74. This comes as 44 of the stocks advanced while 32 retreated.
The MSCI Tadawul Index gained 10.88 points, or 0.72 percent, to close at 1,517.43.
The best-performing stock of the day was Saudi Kayan Petrochemical Co., whose share price surged 9.96 percent to SR5.30.
Other top performers included Ataa Educational Co., whose share price rose 9.94 percent to SR57.50, as well as Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co., whose share price surged 5.74 percent to SR7.55.
Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Co. recorded the most significant drop, falling 5.93 percent to SR220.50.
Abdullah Saad Mohammed Abo Moati for Bookstores Co. also saw its stock prices fall 2.77 percent to SR43.56.
Zahrat Al Waha for Trading Co. also saw its stock prices decline 2.30 percent to SR2.55.
On the announcement front, Multi Business Group Co. reported its annual financial results for the year ended Dec. 31. According to a Tadawul statement, the firm recorded a net profit of SR352,172 during the year, down 98 percent from the previous year.
The company attributed the decline primarily to a 2 percent drop in building contracting revenues and a 73 percent decrease in gross profit.
Multi Business Group Co. ended the session at SR9.90, down 1 percent.
Hamad Mohammed Bin Saedan Real Estate Co. announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Awwal Bank to enhance collaboration in financing solutions, advance real estate development projects, and expand access to customer financing programs.
Hamad Mohammed Bin Saedan Real Estate Co. ended the session at SR6.67, up 1.21 percent.
