On April 22, 2014, a Dallas County court jury awarded a family
$2.95 million in the first fracking case to go to a jury in
Texas.
Lisa and Robert Parr live on 40 acres atop the Barnett Shale
where fracking began in 2008. Twenty-two wells were eventually
drilled within two miles of their 40-acre home. The Parrs alleged
that they began experiencing chronic nose bleeding, irregular
heartbeat, muscle spasms, and open sores when fracking
began. They claimed the symptoms were caused by exposure to
hazardous gases, chemicals, and industrial waste.
The Parrs sued Aruba Petroleum, Inc. (Aruba) and ten other oil
and gas companies in 2011, alleging negligence, gross negligence,
private nuisance, and trespass. Halliburton won a no-evidence
summary judgment, arguing the family had produced no evidence that
Halliburton's conduct was the proximate cause of their
injuries. Specifically, Halliburton argued that it conducted very
limited work on the sites; namely, it had only
