In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether ("MTBE") Products Liability Litigation

OPINION AND ORDER

SHIRA A. SCHEINDLIN, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This is a consolidated multi-district litigation (“MDL”) relating to contamination — actual or threatened — of groundwater from various defendants’ use of the gasoline additive methyl tertiary butyl ether (“MTBE”) and/or tertiary butyl alcohol, a product formed by the breakdown of MTBE in water. In this case, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (“Commonwealth”) alleges that defendants’ use and handling of MTBE has contaminated, or threatened to contaminate, groundwater within its jurisdiction. Familiarity with the underlying…