NJ Senate Urges Judge To Reject Chris Christie's ExxonMobil Settlement

"New Jersey's state Senate passed on Monday a non-binding resolution that asks a judge to reject Governor Chris Christie's $225 million settlement with ExxonMobil, according to the New Jersey legislature website.

Christie, a likely Republican contender in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, settled on March 5 a long-running lawsuit over environmental damage from Exxon's Bayway and Bayonne oil refinery sites and certain other sites in New Jersey.

The accord needs to be approved by the judge overseeing the 2004 lawsuit after a public comment period, according to a statement from acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin."

Sudarshan Varadhan, Jarrett Renshaw, and Megan Davies report for Reuters March 16, 2015.