Source: Odessa American, Texas, December 5, 2012
Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com
A man injured in an oil spill on North Loop 250 in Midland has requested to join an environmental lawsuit filed by Ector County against Monahans-based Quell Petroleum.
In response to that request, Quell Petroleum filed a motion to transfer the personal injury case and instead have the personal injury case and the environmental case operate independently of each other.
Victor Medrano Jr., who was injured when his motorcycle crashed after slipping on the spilled oil, filed the plea of intervention — or request to join in the lawsuit — seeking punitive and exemplary damages “in order to punish and deter the outrageous conduct of the defendant,” according to the document.
Medrano claimed that Quell Petroleum was negligent and was not careful in properly inspecting the oil filters it had on board, allowed the discharge of oil and failed to warn motorists of the dangerous conditions caused by the oil spilling.
The environmental lawsuit originated when Ector County accused Quell Petroleum of spilling the used motor oil on a stretch of about 25 miles of highway in both Midland and Ector counties.
Daniel Ray, who is representing Ector County in the lawsuit, said Quell Petroleum answered the lawsuit and removed the truck that spilled the oil from service.
But because Medrano filed a plea of intervention, Quell Petroleum filed its own motion in opposition of the cases being combined and in opposition of the personal injury case being tried in Travis County.
In its motion, Quell Petroleum claims that it does no business in Travis County and a trial there would not be fair to either the business or Medrano.
Terry Rhoads, an attorney for Quell Petroleum, said the law allows for a person or company to defend themselves in their home county. He also said the two cases are two different types of legal proceedings, which are the reasons for the motion.
“The judges and jurors understand the activity in the industry better in Ward County,” Rhoads said.
Quell Petroleum later asks in the motion to grant the motion to transfer Medrano’s claims from the lawsuit in Travis County, “(e)ffectively working a severance of (Medrano’s) claims.”
The motion by Quell Petroleum also further denies the accusations made by Medrano.