On Thursday, in a ruling a federal jury said that Cabot Oil & Gas Co will pay approximately $4.25 million in damages to two couples and their children in northeastern Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs alleged that fracking operations conducted by the company contaminated their ground water. The court room battle lasted for more than six years.      Scott Ely and Monica Marta-Ely, a married couple in Dimock were awarded$1.3 million by the jurors in a federal court in Scranton and $50,000 was awarded to their three children. Another couple from Dimock, Ray and Victoria Hubert, received $720,000 each, and their daughter was awarded $50,000.

The verdict ended a bitter lawsuit which the Dimock, Pennsylvania homeowners were fighting against Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp.

The residents reported the problems in their wells for the first time in 2008. The water from their taps got discolored, turned cloudy and foamy. The water also turned foul smelling and tasted bad. The residents who had leased their land to the oil company said, when they used the water, it made them sick. It caused them skin irritations, vomiting and dizziness.