Judge throws out jury decision to award $4 million to families impacted byfracking

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

A judge in Pennsylvania has overturned a jury’s decision to award $4.24 million to two families in Dimock, Pennsylvania, saying that the science used in the case, which linked fracking to methane contamination in drinking water, was not adequate.

Judge Martin Carlson wrote Friday that the evidence “was spare, sometimes contradictory, frequently rebutted by other scientific expert testimony, and relied in some measure upon tenuous inferences,” the Hill reported.

The plaintiffs have argued that the fracking operations of Cabot Oil and Gas caused methane to leak into their groundwater. During fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, oil and gas producers inject large volumes of chemical- and sand-laced water into shale formations far below ground. The water breaks up the shale, releasing the oil or gas deposits below.

“The judge heard the same case that the jury heard and the jury was unanimous. How can he take it upon himself to set aside their verdict? It’s outrageous,” Scott Ely, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

https://thinkprogress.org/judge-throws-out-jury-decision-to-award-4-million-to-families-impacted-by-fracking-8a2cf5ae4021

[Jonny Appleseed]

1. Listen, you ain't a judge on scientific data.

Scientists are. This is like bringing in some whacko doctor to a murder trial that provides "scientific studies" to imply that the defendant wasn't responsible, just his brain; the jury sees through that bullshit, but the judge is like "hmmm.... he may have a point..." and tosses the case out.

[Turbineguy]

2. Sounds like somebody wants a promotion...