Pennsylvania couples from 'Gasland' doc win $4.25 million from frackers

Two couples from Dimock, Pa., the town featured in the Emmy-winning 2010 anti-fracking documentary "Gasland," were awarded nearly $4.25 million on Thursday after a federal jury found Cabot Oil & Gas, one of the largest natural gas producers in Pennsylvania, was responsible for the contamination of their well water.

The verdict capped a six-year odyssey that turned sleepy, little Dimock into a battleground over the nation's shale drilling and hydraulic fracturing boom.

The verdict in Scranton came at the end of a bitter lawsuit pitting homeowners in Dimock against Houston-based Cabot.

Dimock was the scene of the most highly publicized case of methane contamination to emerge from the early days of Pennsylvania's natural-gas drilling boom. Actor Mark Ruffalo, an anti-fracking environmentalist went there for the "Water for Dimock" rally in 2011 and to show how gross the water was.

State regulators blamed faulty gas wells drilled by Cabot for leaking combustible methane into Dimock's groundwater, contaminating at least 18 residential wells. Cabot claimed the methane was naturally occurring and said the problems in the wells predated Cabot's arrival.

And jurors didn't believe that line? That the residents of Dimock hadn't noticed previously that there water was already foamy, cloudy, smelly and foul?

Dozens of Dimock plaintiffs reached settlements with Cabot four years ago, but the Ely and the Hubert families didn't want to settle.

"They did something wrong," Scott Ely told reporters outside the courthouse. "That was the whole point of getting it into the courtroom."

The plaintiffs' attorney Leslie Lewis called the verdict a warning shot that will resonate beyond the courtroom.

"Cabot doesn't care. Industry doesn't care. They're the big bucks. Their influence is wide and far. . . . It's fine with me if industry takes a big fat hit," Lewis said.

Mark Ruffalo tweeted yesterday afternoon:

Cabot Oil & Gas said it will appeal the verdict. Cabot said the verdict disregarded "overwhelming scientific and factual evidence" that it conducted itself properly.

That could mean that when it comes to oil drilling, polluting groundwater may be part of proper conduct. Perhaps even expected conduct.

Or maybe Cabot's legal team should have taken a tip from The People Vs. O.J. Simpson and gone with "If it smells like sh--, you must acquit."

Take note, Flint.

From Tattle Los Angeles correspondent Jerome Maida:

With the recent premiere of the first trailer for the new Ghostbusters movie, director Paul Feig stressed that there were two things he was trying to achieve with the reboot.

"It was really important to make them scientists," he said. "That's what I love about the first movie. The idea of people fighting the paranormal with science - funny people - just really resonated with us. We wanted them to be scientists."

All of them except Leslie Jones' character, obviously.

"We didn't write this with any actors in mind. We just wanted to get these characters right and then it was two months of, 'Who's the perfect people for this?' " he continued. "Melissa (McCarthy) was never a shoo-in. Everyone thinks Melissa was a shoo-in. She was not. It was just, 'I've got to get four distinct personalities . . . and I know so many funny people - and especially funny women.'

"You should see some of the lists. It was crazy. In the end, it was about who best complemented each other. So Kristen (Wiig) is this vulnerable comedienne, Melissa is this headstrong comedienne, Kate (McKinnon) is this weirdo nut where you're, like, 'Where did that come from?' and Leslie just comes at you and the four of them just gelled so well."

Ghostbusters opens July 15.

* The celebrity universe isn't all liberal.

Jon Voight has joined Tila Tequila, Dennis Rodman, Mike Ditka, Kirstie Alley, Wayne Newton and former reality TV star Sarah Palin in endorsing Donald Trump for president.

The "Midnight Cowboy" actor and staunch conservative backed Trump in a statement to Breitbart.com on March 9, saying "Donald is funny, playful, and colorful, but most of all, he is honest."

* Maroon 5 frontman/Voice coach Adam Levine is going to be a dad.

Thankfully, the baby is with his Victoria's Secret model wife Behati Prinsloo and not with his boyfriend Blake Shelton.

- Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

gensleh@phillynews.com
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