Texas jury awards $2.9 million to family that claimed gas-drilling operations made them sick

YouTube image of Bob and Lisa Parr

A Texas couple "who sued Plano-based Aruba Petroleum, claiming that natural gas operations near their 40-acre ranch made them sick, has won a $2.9 million award from a Dallas jury," Jim Fuquay reports for McClatchy Newspapers. "It is believed to be one of the few cases filed by landowners claiming harm from Barnett Shale gas operations to have gone to trial. Most are dismissed or settled, attorneys said."

"Plaintiffs Bob and Lisa Parr had sought more than $9 million in the lawsuit, filed in 2011, alleging that Aruba's drilling operations at one point forced them to move from their Decatur property," Fuquay writes. "In a 5-1 verdict Tuesday, the jury found that the company created a nuisance that substantially interfered with the Parrs' use of their land."

"The jury's award included $275,000 in damages for lost property value; $2.4 million for past mental anguish, pain and suffering by the couple and their daughter; and $250,000 for future pain and suffering," Fuquay writes.. The Parrs presented medical evidence that the family's health issues began about the time Aruba drilled the wells in 2008." (Read more)