Duncan Firm Files First Lawsuit In ExxonMobil Mayflower Oil Spill Incident

Arkansas is known as the “natural” state for its pristine environment and safe living conditions for people.  Recently, however, much of the state’s focus has been on the environmental damage caused by a rupture of ExxonMobil’s Pegasus Pipeline in Mayflower, Arkansas.  

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has categorized this oil spill as a “major spill.”  Early estimates predict that thousands of Wabasca Heavy Crude was released and traveled approximately 1 mile through a neighborhood, ditches and eventually into a tributary of Lake Conway.  To date, Exxon has collected over 19,000 barrells of contamination from the pipe rupture.  

The Pegasus Pipeline was constructed in the 1940s and streches from Patoka, Illinois to Nederland, Texas.  The pipeline travels approximately 300 miles through the heart of Arkansas near watersheds and water sources including Lake Conway, the Arkansas River and the Mississippi River.

In 2006, Exxon reversed the Pegasus Pipeline to deliver Canadian Crude to Gulf Coast Refineries.  In 2009, Exxon incresed the amount of Heavy Crude flowing through the pipeline by 50%, or about 30,000 barrels per day.

Exxon has a history of failing to inspect the Pegasus Pipeline.  In 2010, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) found that Exxon had gone 8 years between inspection of the Pegasus Pipeline that traveleled underneath the Mississippi River between Missouri and Illinois.

The incident in Mayflower has spawned a direct, public knowledge that property in close proximity to the Pegasus Pipeline is at risk for permanent damage.  

The Duncan Firm has filed a Class Action on behalf of all property owners in close proximity to the Pegasus Pipeline seeking diminution of value of their land and property.  To determine if your property is located nearby Exxon’s Pegasus Pipeline visit the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s website at www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov.  PHMSA has an online mapping system available where you can view maps of transmission pipelines by county.  

To see a general map of the Pegasus Pipeline, click here.

Duncan Firm has a successful track record in handling class action lawsuits representing a large group of individuals.  Our class action team has represented hundreds and thousands of plaintiffs in a variety of class action case types, including defective products, antitrust, mass torts and fraud.  Our team will continue to monitor the oilspill in Mayflower and vigorously fight for individuals effected by Exxon’s Pegasus Pipeline.

If would like further information, please contact us at 1-887-6-DUNCAN or visit us at www.duncanfirm.com.