What Happens When Evidence Is Not Provided in a Timely Manner

Monday, February 06, 2017

Time makes the biggest difference. Cabot Oil and Gas was sued in 2009, when they allegedly contaminated the well water supplies in an attempt to drill Marcellus Shale for natural gas in Dimock Township. While Cabot officially settled with 40 plaintiffs in 2012, the two couples who refused the offer awaited their opportunity to introduce their case. It took six years for the two Dimock Township couples to present their evidence in court and when they did, the federal judge blocked a large portion of their evidence.

The Lawsuit

Couples Raymond and Victoria Hubert, and Nolen Scott Ely and Monica Marta-Ely, are the four Dimock Township residents who refused to settle with Cabot in 2012. Cabot has unflinchingly denied any claims that they contaminated the wells in Dimock Township. Matter of fact, Cabot claims that any evidence will demonstrate that they met or surpassed the standard drilling requirements and were not the source of contamination. The two couples sought damages on multiple accounts, including breach of agreement, private extortion, carelessness, and individual damage, with Leslie Lewis, a New York lawyer representing the Elys family.

Evidence Problems

In August of 2015, all pre-trial proof should have been submitted. But, after five months, on January 12, 2016, Attorney Lewis documented a pre-trial brief posting 24 exhibits she planned to introduce at the trial. At that point, on February 1, 2016, Lewis documented another exhibit list containing 351 displays, 174 of which had never been introduced prior hereto. Anybody acquainted with law may know that the reason for disclosing proof preceding trial is to guarantee that the defendants are not “ambushed by a trial-by-surprise,” is what U.S. District Magistrate Judge Martin Carlson said he had an obligation to shield Cabot from.

Evidence

Despite the fact that Judge Carlson realized that the Elys and Huberts would encounter a huge impact to their side of the claim, he felt he didn't have any choice but to toss out more than 300 exhibits presented by Lewis. He could do so based on the fact that they were not introduced to the lawyers for the litigant until a few weeks before trial, which was booked to start February 22, 2016. Notwithstanding, in all decency, Judge Carlson additionally decided that the members of the jury would be instructed concerning the state law which expresses that if a water supply is inside 1,000 feet of a gas or oil well and contamination happens within six months of the drilling, the drillers are presumed to be in charge of the sullying.

Any bit of proof that is tossed out by a judge could be unfavorable to a case. That is the reason it is significant to contact an experienced lawyer who will be invested in your case and guarantee that all proof is submitted at pre-trial. In the event you are thinking about seeking compensation for damages or injury in a trial for negligence or individual damage, contact Solnick and Associates, LLC today at (877) 415-6495 for a free case assessment.

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