Couple Settles Lawsuit Over House Explosion

POWELL, Wyo. (AP) — Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. has reached a settlement with a couple that sued the company over an explosion at their former home in Powell in 2006.

The Associated Press reports the couple's attorney notified a judge last month that the sides had reached a confidential settlement.

Jared and Lynne Collins alleged in a 2010 lawsuit that a service man who came to restore natural gas service to their home had negligently failed to detect a leaking gas line the couple had left open. No one was hurt when the house later exploded.

Lynne Collins initially was charged with arson after a police investigation, but a prosecutor dropped the charge citing unspecified new information.

Jared and Lynn Collins now live in Fort Morgan, Colo.