In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether Products Liability Litigation

A district court denied in part motions to dismiss as time barred Puerto Rico's lawsuit against various oil companies for methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) groundwater contamination. Under Puerto Rico law, once the defendant has established that the injury occurred more than one year prior to the filing of the complaint the plaintiff bears the burden of proving that she lacked the requisite knowledge at the relevant times. Here, Puerto Rico established an issue of fact as to whether it had actual or deemed knowledge of contamination prior to the bar date for all but one of the contaminated sites.