Court's decision mixed on damages in gas geysers case

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ The Kansas Supreme Court rules today that an Oklahoma company held partly responsible for deadly 2001 gas explosions in Hutchinson, Kansas, can't avoid paying 5.25 million dollars

Saturday, June 17th 2006, 12:31 pm

By: News On 6

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ The Kansas Supreme Court rules today that an Oklahoma company held partly responsible for deadly 2001 gas explosions in Hutchinson, Kansas, can't avoid paying 5.25 million dollars in punitive damages,.

The court's unanimous decision was mixed for Mid Continent Marketing Center Incorporated, which is a subsidiary of Tulsa-based natural gas company ONEOK Incorporated, and for operators of Woody's Furniture and Decor Party Supplies of Kansas.

Three years after the explosions, a Sedgwick County jury found ONEOK and Mid Continent both at fault and awarded the two businesses more than 1.7 million dollars in compensatory damages. A judge then ordered Mid Continent to pay the additional punitive damages.

The Supreme Court said the first part of the award should have been reduced to reflect insurance settlements but rejected Mid Continent's claim that the punitive damages were excessive and violated the company's rights to due legal process.

The blast on January 17th, 2001, rocked downtown Hutchinson, destroying the two stores and leaving other nearby buildings in flames. Gas geysers 30 feet high erupted, forcing hundreds of people out of southeast Hutchinson for several days. The downtown leak was being burned off when another explosion the next day killed a couple at a mobile home park.