District Court, S.D. New York October 25, 2011, Master File No. 1:00-1898; MDL No. 1358 (SAS); No. M21-88 (In re Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether ("MTBE") Products Liability Litigation)

OPINION AND ORDER

SHIRA A. SCHEINDLIN, District Judge:

1. INTRODUCTION

In this consolidated multi-district litigation (“MDL”), plaintiffs seek relief from contamination, or threatened contamination, 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 natural degradation of MTBE in water.