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Auriemma v. ExxonMobil Oil Corp.

Oil Spill Complaint Is Denied Dismissal; Claims Not Shown Untimely Under Three-Year Period

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MEMORANDUM AND ORDER Plaintiffs Christina Auriemma and Theresa Eisenbach sued ExxonMobil Oil Corporation in New York state court in 2020, asserting various causes of action under New York law arising from an oil spill in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, that was first discovered in the 1970s. After removing the case to federal court, defendant moved to dismiss the complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), raising the affirmative defense that plaintiffs’ claims are time-barred. As explained below, the validity of that defense cannot be determined based on the limited set of materials properly considered on a motion to dismiss. Accordingly, defendant’s motion is denied. BACKGROUND I. Factual Background The following facts are taken from the complaint and assumed true for the purposes of this order. In 1978, the U.S. Coast Guard discovered oil seeping out of the banks of Newton Creek in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Compl. 38 (Dkt. # 1-2). Greenpoint has long been a heavily industrialized area that houses many oil refineries and storage facilities. Id. 32. Defendant ExxonMobil still owns and operates a storage facility in the neighborhood, which plaintiffs refer to as the ExxonMobil terminal. Id. 34. After discovering the oil seepage, the Coast Guard commissioned a formal investigation, which culminated in a 1979 report. Id.

38, 44. The report estimated that the seepage had created an oil spill in the shape of a seventeen-million-gallon plume that would continue to migrate into groundwater and sewer pipes. Id.

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