The Texas Supreme Court let stand an appeals court decision thatreversed a $204 million damage award against a subsidiary ofMitchell Energy & Development Corp. in the 1996 “Bartlett” casein which plaintiffs alleged the company contaminated water wells inWise County, TX. “Friday’s announcement by the Texas Supreme Court,and recent decisions at the district court level, are significantvictories because these cases clearly establish the fact thatMitchell is not the cause of any water quality problems in NorthTexas,” said Tom Battle, Mitchell general counsel.

The number of remaining lawsuits against Mitchell in North Texaswas reduced to 25 this spring after a district court in Wise Countydismissed one suit for lack of evidence that Mitchell caused waterwell problems, and another suit was dropped by a plaintiff whochose not to pursue the case.

George P. Mitchell, chairman and chief executive officer, said,”For all parties concerned, we hope that this latest developmentwill put all of this litigation to rest.”

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