Exxon Bid For Federal Litigation Rejected

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A federal appeals court has rejected Exxon Mobil Corp.'s bid to have a suit litigated in federal court, not state court.

The multibillion-dollar lawsuit filed in Harford County Circuit Court in 2004 against ExxonMobile Corp. alleges that about 750 Fallston residents were exposed to groundwater contaminated with a potential carcinogen from the former Upper Crossroads Exxon Station.

A second case with the same claims and nearly identical plaintiffs was moved to U.S. District Court in 2011, but because of the time the first case was pending in state court, a federal judge abstained from action in the case last year.

The Daily Record reports that 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that ruling Wednesday. The case in state court was on hold while this matter was resolved.

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