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

Filing 4714

STATUS REPORT. Document filed by Orange County Water District. (Attachments: # 1 Text of Proposed Order Exhibit 1)Filed In Associated Cases: 1:00-cv-01898-VSB-VF, 1:04-cv-04968-VSB-VF.(Axline, Michael)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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IN RE METHYL TERTIARY BUTYL ETHER :
PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION
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This Document Relates To:
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Orange County Water District v. Unocal
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Corporation, et al.,
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Case No. 04 Civ. 4968 (VSB)
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I.

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

STATUS REPORT

INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to the Court’s April 18, 2022, Order (Doc. 525), plaintiff Orange County Water
District (“OCWD”) hereby submits a Joint Status Report concerning the present state of this
action.
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JOINT STATUS REPORT
In 2015, a subset of defendants were remanded to the Central District of California for

further proceedings and trial with respect to sixteen focus sites. (See Doc. 4267 [Suggestion to
Remand]; Doc. 463 [JPML Separation of Claims and Conditional Remand Order].) In 2017,
before trial could commence, the dismissal of the Texaco/Shell and Arco/BP defendants was
overturned by the Second Circuit, and these defendants were also remanded to the Central
District of California for further proceedings and trial. (Doc. 4471 [Suggestion of Remand];
Doc. 538 [JPML Separation of Claims and Conditional Remand Order].) In early 2019, OCWD
settled with each of these defendants before trial was completed. (Doc. 4572.)

As of January 2022, the only defendants remaining were Valero, Tesoro, Southern
Counties, Citgo and USA Gasoline. On March 23, 2022, pursuant to stipulated agreements,
OCWD dismissed its remaining claims against each of these remaining defendants. (Doc. 534.)
Since all defendants have now been dismissed from the action, it is OCWD’s position
that this action can be dismissed in its entirety. OCWD attaches as Exhibit 1 a [Proposed] Order
of Dismissal for the Court’s signature.

Respectfully submitted,
Date: May 3, 2022

MILLER & AXLINE
A Professional Corporation

By:

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s/ Tracey O’Reilly
Tracey O’Reilly
Attorneys for Plaintiff
Orange County Water District

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In Re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) Products Liability Litigation:
Orange County Water District v. Unocal Corp., et al., Case No. 04 Civ. 4968

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PROOF OF SERVICE VIA LEXISNEXIS FILE AND SERVE
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I am a citizen of the United States and an employee in the County of
Sacramento. I am over the age of eighteen (18) years and not a party to this
action. My business address is Miller & Axline, 1050 Fulton Avenue, Suite, 100,
Sacramento, California 95825.
On the date executed below, I electronically served the document(s) via
File & ServeXpress, described below, on the recipients designated on the
Transaction Receipt located on the File & ServeXpress website:
STATUS REPORT

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I declare under penalty of perjury that true and correct copies of the above
document(s) were served via File & ServeXpress on May 3, 2022.

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/s/ Kathy Herron
KATHY HERRON