Dutch court finds energy firm liable for emotional suffering

A Dutch court has ruled that an energy company jointly owned by Shell and ExxonMobil is liable for the psychological suffering of residents in the north of the country whose homes have been damaged by small earthquakes caused by gas drilling. In a ruling Wednesday, a court in the northern city of Assen held the Netherlands Petroleum Company, known by its Dutch acronym NAM, liable for so-called “immaterial damages” suffered by residents and ordered the company to pay them compensation.