Source: Charleston Daily Mail (WV), February 5, 2014
Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com
Attorneys have moved beyond Freedom Industries in a new batch of lawsuits tied to last month’s Elk River chemical spill.
In fact, the company’s name doesn’t appear at all in some of the recent lawsuits filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court.
Four lawsuits filed in the last few weeks list only West Virginia American Water Co. as a defendant. An attorney in one of the cases would not comment on why Freedom wasn’t also listed as a defendant.
See more coverage of WV water crisis
Freedom Industries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Jan. 17. The bankruptcy case caused all civil litigation involving the company to be placed in “time out.” Attorneys can file a motion to lift the civil stay, but so far, none have.
The bankruptcy stay will not affect cases against the water company, the attorney said.
In one of the lawsuits, filed against the water company on Jan. 24, residents said West Virginia American Water should have taken more precautions to prevent the contamination of its water supply.
Local residents Kristy Ord, Sherri Vance, Cambree Vance, Ann Perrine, Sandra Bowles, Jennifer Totten, William G. Jones are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Several of them said they became ill after coming into contact with the contaminated water.
The lawsuit said Ord, who is pregnant, drank the water after a public all-clear signal was given. Two days later, though, government officials announced pregnant women should not drink the water.
The lawsuit claims the water company had the responsibility to investigate the area above its treatment facility to see if there was a possibility of contamination.
It also said the water company had the responsibility to monitor its intake to detect contamination, close the intake if there was contamination, immediately notify the public and provide an alternate source of water.
Plaintiffs allege the water company didn’t conduct an adequate investigation to confirm the presence of chemicals and didn’t have an adequate contingency plan in place.
The lawsuit said the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection informed the water company of the leak around noon but said the company didn’t close its intake and didn’t immediately notify customers of the danger.
West Virginia American Water attorneys asked for an extension to respond to the new lawsuits. The company has until April to file its responses.
Since the initial burst of lawsuits targeting Freedom, several lawsuits have branched out to include its parent companies, shareholders and members. Some have even listed chemical manufacturer Eastman Chemical Company.
At least one lawsuit lists the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection as a defendant, along with Freedom and others.
One of the complaints filed as an adversary proceeding in the bankruptcy case listed Chemstream Holdings, Rosebud Mining Company, Gary Southern and J. Clifford Forrest as defendants — marking one of the first instances where Chemstream, Rosebud and Forrest’s names appeared on a lawsuit.
The adversary proceeding was dismissed the next day without prejudice, which means it can be refiled once the bankruptcy judge gives the green light for all lawsuits to move forward.