Twin Oaks Pipeline Leak Litigation: La Hart v. Sunoco & Energy Transfer

ABOUT THE TWIN OAKS PIPELINE LEAK LITIGATION AGAINST DEFENDANTS SUNOCO AND ENERGY TRANSFER

On January 31, 2025, Sunoco reported a leak in its Twin Oaks Pipeline that runs through residential neighborhoods in Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and transports hazardous and toxic liquid petroleum including jet fuel at high pressure from Aston, Pennsylvania to Newark, New Jersey. Although Sunoco identified and reported the leak to federal regulators in January 2025, it is alleged that Sunoco was aware of odor complaints from residents of Upper Makefield since at least September 2023.

Private wells in the Mt. Eyre Manor neighborhood in Upper Makefield Township where the leak was identified have now tested positive for jet fuel-related contaminants. It is alleged that toxins that were transported through the Twin Oaks Pipeline include chemicals such as kerosene, benzene, ethylbenzene, isopropylbenzene, dichloroethane, trimethylbenzene (“TMB”), toluene, naphthalene, methyl tertiary-butyl ether (“MTBE”), and lead, substances so dangerous that their presence presents a potential immediate threat to residents’ health and wellbeing.

Berger Montague has been retained by over 170 residents of the Mt. Eyre Manor and surrounding neighborhoods to prosecute their claims arising from the Twin Oaks Pipeline Leak in Upper Makefield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, including parts of Washington Crossing and Newtown, Pennsylvania. The Defendants in the lawsuit include Energy Transfer LP and Sunoco Pipeline L.P.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”), a federal agency overseeing fuel pipelines, has issued a Notice of Proposed Safety Order and required the Twin Oaks Pipeline to operate at reduced pressure. PHMSA has stated that the Twin Oaks Pipeline may have been leaking and contaminating the properties of Bucks County residents for sixteen (16) months.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has issued a Notice of Violation based on its determination that pollution from the Twin Oaks Pipeline violates Pennsylvania state law. U.S. Senator John Fetterman, U.S. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania Senator Steven Santarsiero, and the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, have all called for operations of the Twin Oaks Pipeline to be suspended as the investigation continues. Despite this, Sunoco continues to transport hazardous liquids including jet fuel through the Twin Oaks Pipeline.

On March 27, 2025, Plaintiffs Daniel La Hart and Katherine La Hart (“Plaintiffs”), individually and on behalf of all affected Pennsylvania residents, filed a Class Action Complaint against Defendants Sunoco Pipeline L.P. (“Sunoco”), Energy Transfer (R&M), LLC and Energy Transfer LP (collectively, “Defendants”), alleging that the Defendants’ are at fault for the Pipeline Leak based upon their maintenance, operation, and control of the Twin Oaks Pipeline, which has resulted in a still unquantified leak of jet fuel and resulting toxins, pollutants, and contaminants into the environment. The Complaint alleges that the Pipeline Leak has unleashed a catastrophic environmental disaster on a previously idyllic Bucks County, Pennsylvania, community. including but not limited to the Mt. Eyre Manor community and surrounding neighborhoods that are subject to the plume caused by the Pipeline Leak.

The Class Action Complaint alleges that the Twin Oaks Pipeline Leak has caused severe harm and poses a serious ongoing and current danger to residents’ physical health and wellbeing, the community’s groundwater, soil, air quality, and ecosystem, and to property values. Defendants have already purchased one home in the Mt. Eyre Manor community for the purpose of drilling monitoring and/or recovery wells in the residential neighborhood. Testing shows that Defendants’ jet fuel has already contaminated private wells in the community that provide water for drinking, bathing, cooking, and washing.

Led by attorneys Shanon J. Carson, Michael Twersky, Joseph Samuel, and Jordan Hughes, Berger Montague is investigating the Pipeline Leak and resulting environmental contamination, and litigating the lawsuit on behalf of their clients and the proposed Class members to obtain appropriate relief and justice for the residents of the community.

Read more about this case:

* Upper Makefield Residents File Class Action Lawsuit Over Pipeline Leak, The Newtown, PA Patch, April 1, 2025.
* Class Says Sunoco Pipeline Leaked Jet Fuel Into Groundwater, Law360, March 31, 2025.
* Feds say Sunoco hazardous pipeline leaked fuel in Bucks Co. for at least 16 months, The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 14, 2025.
* Upper Makefield residents, Pa. officials call for pipeline to be shut down pending spill investigation, WHYY News, February 14, 2025.
* More wells in Upper Makefield show contaminants. Is it connected to pipeline leak? PhillyBurbs.com, February 18, 2025.
* Sunoco broke state law with jet fuel leak into Bucks County wells: DEP, PhillyBurbs.com, March 7, 2025.
* Congressman Again Calls for Shutdown of Pipeline in Upper Makefield. Newtown Patch, March 10, 2025.
* Upper Makefield residents press for answers on pipeline leak: ‘We had the wool pulled over our eyes, ‘ WHYY News, March 12, 2025.
* Sunoco to stop attending public forums about Upper Makefield pipeline leak, The Reporter Online, March 17, 2025.
* Pennsylvania A.G. launches criminal investigation into Sunoco pipeline spill, Philadelphia Inquirer, March 17, 2025.
* Energy Transfer begins drilling recovery wells on Pennsylvania street after fuel leak sparked water, air safety concerns, CBS News, March 19, 2025.
* Bucks County pipeline: Recovery well installed in Upper Makefield Township following jet fuel leak, 6 ABC Action News, March 20, 2025.
* Mt. Eyre Neighborhood Wells, Upper Makefield Township, updated regularly.

Berger Montague is one of the nation’s preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. The firm is active in the fields of antitrust, commercial litigation, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For more than 55 years, Berger Montague has played lead roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago, Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE.