By The Associated Press
Friday, November 20, 2009
The Texas Supreme Court will again hear arguments in a 15-year legal battle over accusations that Exxon Mobil sabotaged abandoned wells to prevent others from using them.
A smaller oil company that tried to enter the Texas wells says the world's largest publicly traded oil company had stuffed them with junk, sludge and tools. Irving, Texas-based Exxon Mobil Corp. has denied wrongdoing.
The plaintiffs won at trial in 1999, but the Texas Supreme Court later reversed the finding. That ruling sparked a campaign led by the Texas land commissioner and state comptroller to reopen the case.
