NJ won’t see Exxon settlement in 2016, treasurer says

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- New Jersey's top financial officer says the state won't get to collect $225 million from the settlement of an environmental lawsuit against Exxon Mobil.

Treasurer Ford Scudder told the Assembly budget committee on Wednesday that the money is sitting in escrow but won't be paid out because of continued litigation by plaintiffs seeking to intervene in the suit to force the company to pay more.

A Superior Court judge in August approved a deal between the Christie administration and Exxon Mobil worth $225 million to the state. The state said it's one of the largest settlements of its kind in state history.

But environmental groups including the Sierra Club and state Sen. Ray Lesniak argued the state should have gotten more for pollution going back decades.

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