A nine-judge Court of Special Appeals panel has denied a second motion to reconsider its February decision to slash Jacksonville residents’ $150 million verdict against Exxon Mobil. The motion was denied without explanation in a one-sentence unreported opinion filed Monday.
The same panel denied the first motion for reconsideration on March 6, which claimed that seven judges of the 12-member court were needed to overturn the verdict. Plaintiffs’ lawyers Snyder & Snyder additionally argued in their second motion that the three judges who recused themselves should not have voted on whether to hear the case as a full court.
The underlying case involved 88 plaintiff households and stemmed from a massive gas station leak in 2006. February’s 321-page appellate opinion, which included four separate concurrences and dissents, left intact about $60 million in property damage claims.