In Re: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether ("MTBE") Products Liability Litigation

Filing 3930

DECLARATION of Michael A. Walsh in Support re: (364 in 1:07-cv-10470-SAS, 34 in 1:14-cv-01014-SAS, 3927 in 1:00-cv-01898-SAS-DCF) MOTION to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction.. Document filed by Tauber Oil. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Exhibit F, # 7 Exhibit G, # 8 Exhibit H, # 9 Exhibit I)Filed In Associated Cases: 1:00-cv-01898-SAS-DCF, 1:07-cv-10470-SAS, 1:14-cv-01014-SAS(Walsh, Michael)

EXHIBIT G

A

NORTON ROSE FULBRIG

September 6, 2013

Fulbright & Jaworski LLP
1301 McKinney, Suite 5100
Houston, Texas 7701()"3095
United states

The Honorable Shira A. Scheindlin
United States District Judge
Southern District of New York
Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse
500 Pearl Street, Room 1620
New York, New York 10007-1312

Re:

Direct line [phone]
[e-mail]
Tel[phone]
Fax [phone]
nortonrosefulbright.com

Master File C.A. No. 1:00-1898. MDL No. 1358 (SAS) M21-88; Commonwealth
Rico., et al. v. Shell Oil Co., et al.; No. 07-CIV-10470

of Puerto

Dear Judge Scheindlin:
Defendant ConocoPhillips Company ("Defendant") respectfully submits the attached Affidavit in
accordance with the Court's directive at the July 17, 2013 status conference that Defendant
provide a signed affidavit explaining Defendant's efforts to locate batch properties reports and
blending tickets for the years 1982 - 1994. See Tr. at 51:12-16.

Respectfully.

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Enclosure

Fulbright & JaworSki LLP is a IImlte<lliability

partnership

registered under the taws 01 Texas.

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Futbright & Jaworski LlP. Norton Rose Fulbright LLP. Norton Rose Fulbright AustraUa. Norton Rose Futbnllht Canada LLP. Norton Rose Fulbright
South Arrica (incorporate<l as Deneys Reitz. tnc.). eaen 01 which is a separate legal entity. are members or Norton Rose Fulbright Verein, a SwiSs
Vereln. Details of eaCh antity. with certain regulatory inrormation, are at nortonrosetulbright.com.
Norton Rose Fulbright Verein helps coordinate the
activities of the members but does not itself prOllide legal services to clients.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

In Re: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (uMTBEj
Products Liability Litigation

Master File No. 1:00-1898
MDL 1358 (SAS)

This Document Refers to:
COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO. st AL
V. SHEll OlL CO., ET AL., NO. 07-1505

AFFIDAVIT
HECTOR A. MARIN, being duly swom, deposes and states under penalty ofpeajury:
1. My name is Hector A. Marin. I am over the age of 18, and I have personal knowledge of the
matters set forth herein based upon my years of employment, my research and review of
records, all as described herein.
2. I have worked at the petrochemical facility in Guayama, Puerto Rico known as the "Core
facility" since 1973, when I began as an Electrical Design Engineer. The facility was known
as Phillips Puerto Rico Core Inc. through June 2000, after which the facility became known
as Chevron Phillips Chemical Puerto Rice Core LLC. All operations at the facility ceased in
2008. I have continued to work at the facility in a caretaker capacity since the
decommissioning of the plant.
3. MTBE was sometimes blended with gasoline at the Core facility from June 1982 through
March 2000. Core also used other octane enhancers during that time - not always MTBE.
4. When blending a batch of gasoline, Core's tank farm operators followed the directions
provided in Blending Tickets. A Blending Ticket was essentially a recipe for a batch of
gasoline. A Blending Ticket for a gasoline batch indicated whether MTBE, or another octane
enhancer, was to be blended with that batch. See Exemplar Blending Tickets attached hereto
as Exhibit A. After a gasoline batch was blended, it was sampled and analyzed to ensure it
met all the specs, then it was transferred to a finished gasoline tank. Batch Properties
Reports reflect the results of such analysis. The Batch Properties Report would indicate
whether the sample contained MTBE and, if so, the percent of MTBE present in the sample.
See Exemplar Batch Properties Report, attached hereto as Exhibit B.
5. Blending Tickets and Batch Properties Reports have been located for the years 1995- 200) •
and I am advised by legal counsel that they have been produced to the attorneys for the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. After a diligent search of all sources where such records
would likely be found, no Blending Tickets or Batch Properties Reports have been located

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for the years 1982 through 1994. The efforts to locate such documents are described in detail
below.
6, After the Core facility was decommissioned, paper files were sent to storage. Those files
have been reviewed, and instructions were provided to the reviewers to look specifically for
all Blending Tickets and Batch Properties Reports. No Blending Tickets or Batch Properties
Reports for the years 1982 through 1994 could be located. Additionally, I personally
reviewed the index of the boxes that are in storage and recommended particular boxes to be
searched for Blending Tickets or Batch Properties Reports. No Blending Tickets or Batch
Properties Reports for the years 1982 through 1994 could be located.
7. The electronic document management and filing system used by the Core facility is
CPChem's "0 Drive." Core's 0 Drive was copied prior to the decommissioning of the plant
and has been available to search for responsive documents. I understand from Counsel that
much of the information on the 0 Drive has been produced to the Commonwealth in this
matter. I personally referred Counsel to specific folders in the 0 Drive where Blending
Tickets or Batch Properties Reports would likely have been filed. Searches were also run
across the 0 Drive for such documents. Despite these exhaustive efforts, no Blending
Tickets or Batch Properties Reports for the years 1982 through 1994 could be located.

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8. Core's gasoline sales documents, such as invoices. truck loading reports, and bills of lading,
do not indi~te whether a sale of gasoline contained MTBE or not, nor do they reference or
identify the batch from which a sale was derived. See Exemplar Truck Loading Reports and
Bills of Lading. attached hereto as Exhibit C. This is true for gasoline sales both within
Puerto Rico as well as off-island sales, I am advised by Counsel that all gasoline sales
documents have either been produced or made available to the Commonwealth in this matter.
Sometimes lab analyses were attached to shipping documents and would indicate whether the
gasoline batch being transported contained MfBE - I am advised that such documents have
been produced as well to the Commonwealth in this matter. See Exemplar Lab Analysis and
Shipping Documents, attached hereto as Exhibit D.
9. Under penalty of perjury, I declare that the forgoing is true and correct to the best of my
knowledge.

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In

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. Puerto Rico, this -'-

day of September, 2013.

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Name: Hector A. Marin

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