Oil Company Pollution

Samples v. Conoco

A lawsuit was filed against Conoco and other defendants, alleging that two sites – a creosote treatment plant and a fertilizer chemical company – polluted groundwater over a 45-year period of time. Mr. Pohl was engaged as Special Master to create a methodology for allocating the $65 million settlement between the owners of 4,000 properties over that 45-year period of time.  Mr. Pohl’s allocation methodology was presented to the parties and received court approval.  He was also tasked as Claims Administrator to design the process by which individual owners could participate in the settlement.  Mr. Pohl used GIS data to precisely identify class properties over the 45-year class period.  The court-approved process resulted in 95% of the properties receiving benefits that spanned an average of nearly 40 years of time.  Mr. Pohl, as Special Master, oversaw the resolution of all calculations contested by class members.