14 DAY TRIAL // A family in Texas, US, is making headlines after having won a lawsuit against a fracking company dubbed Aruba Petroleum, and having been awarded nearly $3 million (€2.17 million) in compensation.
The row between the Parr Family and Aruba Petroleum, i.e. an independent oil and gas production company that specializes in horizontal drilling and unconventional technologies, began back in 2008.
At that time, parents Bob and Lisa, together with daughter Emma, started experiencing several health issues such as nosebleeds, breathing difficulty, headaches, nausea, and even rashes. What's more, Emma was diagnosed with asthma.
Interestingly enough, these health problems began to manifest themselves just a few months after oil and gas production company Aruba Petroleum had started carrying out fracking operations fairly close to the family's home in Wise County.
After speaking with several attorneys, who all agreed that the health issues the Parr family were experiencing were most likely the result of environmental pollution caused by gas wells close to their home, Bob and Lisa decided to file a lawsuit against Aruba Petroleum.
According to Eco Watch, it was back in 2011 that the Texas family dragged the oil and gas production company to court. A Dallas jury delivered the verdict just days ago and, as already mentioned, ruled in the family's favor.
Thus, Bob and Lisa Parr, together with their daughter Emma, are now expecting that Aruba Petroleum pay them almost $3 million (€2.17 million) in compensation for the health problems that they experienced and for the mental anguish that came with living close to gas wells.
“They’re vindicated. I’m really proud of the family that went through what they went through and said, ‘I’m not going to take it anymore,’” family attorney David Matthews commented on the outcome of this trial in a blog post.
“It takes guts to say, ‘I’m going to stand here and protect my family from an invasion of our right to enjoy our property.’ It’s not easy to go through a lawsuit and have your personal life uncovered and exposed to the extent this family went through,” he added.
Not at all surprisingly, it appears that Aruba Petroleum will not go down without a fight. On the contrary, word has is that the oil and gas production company plans to appeal the court's decision.
Information shared with the public says that Aruba Petroleum is not the company that the Parr family has a bone to pick with. Thus, Bob and Lisa are said to have filed lawsuits against several other fracking businesses that own and operate gas wells in Wise County. However, these cases were settled and never made it to court.