Maryland Plaintiffs Awarded $400K for Contaminated Wells

A Maryland oil company has been found responsible for polluting wells in Carroll County with the toxic gasoline additive known as MTBE.

A jury awarded nearly $400,000 in damages to four families who lived near a Jiffy Mart gas station owned by Tevis Oil.

Clifford Keffer, the named plaintiff whose house was closest to the gas station, was awarded $230,000. The other three families will split the rest of the money.

Keffer testified that he’s had to use bottled water at his home since 2003 after MTBE was found in his well.

The Maryland Department of the Environment identified the Jiffy station as the source of the pollution. But lawyers for Tevis argued that there was no spill or leak found and that the additive came from a nearby junkyard.