We have posted about plaintiffs attorneys seeking to exploit the valuable and significant economic boon that is hydraulic fracturing. Today's post comes from that litigation, but the focus is not on fracking, but on a civil procedure issue that one infrequently sees in mass torts. Plaintiffs in a case complaining about hydraulic fracturing operations in the Fayetteville Shale deposit in Arkansas recently survived a motion to dismiss, in large part because of the photographs they attached to the complaint. Ginardi v. Frontier Gas Services LLC, No. 4:11-cv-00420 (E.D. Ark., 8/10/11).

Plaintiffs alleged that the defendant's compressor stations caused harmful levels of noise pollution, and emitted large amounts of methane and hydrogen sulfide, among other flammable and toxic gasses. Plaintiffs offered multiple theories of liability including: strict liability, nuisance, trespass and negligence. Plaintiffs are seeking to represent similarly situated persons in a class action.