W.Va. Chemical Spill Class Action Lawsuits Consolidated

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Close to 60 civil lawsuits and class action lawsuits over a January 2014 chemical spill that tainted West Virginia residents’ drinking water will be consolidated after a judge found common questions of law and fact among the cases.

The West Virginia chemical spill lawsuits, and at least seven class action lawsuits, stem from the alleged release of the chemical 4-methylcyclohexane methanol by facilities owned by Freedom Industries Inc. into the Elk River, which is the water supply for the surrounding areas and contaminated the water in Kanawha, Putnam, Boone, Jackson Lincoln Roane, Clay, Logan, and Cabell counties.

Freedom Industries is a West Virginia corporation engaged primarily in the production of specialty chemicals for the mining, steel, and cement industries.  It is also a leading supplier of freeze conditioning agents, dust control palliatives, flotation reagents, water treatment polymers, and other specialty chemicals.  Freedom operates two production facilities in West Virginia, namely, in Nitro and Charleston. The chemicals that were released are considered toxic to humans and can cause severe burning in the throat, severe eye irritation, non-stop vomiting, trouble breathing and/or a severe skin irritation that can lead to blistering. The alleged leak contaminated the drinking water for 300,000 West Virginia residents.

At the time of filing for consolidation, 62 separate West Virginia chemical spill lawsuits and class action lawsuits had been filed against Freedom Industries as a result of the alleged chemical leak. Freedom Industries later filed for Chapter 11 protection.

U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver Jr. issued the April 18 order to consolidate the cases for the limited purposes of briefing and resolving the matter of remand to state court because to avoid “[t]he risk of inconsistent adjudications, substantial expense to the parties, and inefficient use of court resources.”

According to the order, “[t]he factual allegations in all of the cases arise from the alleged leak,” and, “[n]o one disputes…that the plaintiffs assert one or more of four categories of claims as follows: (a) physical personal injury tort claims, such as bodily injury, emotional distress and/or requests for medical monitoring to detect bodily injury in the future; (b) non-physical personal injury tort claims, such as annoyance, loss of enjoyment, nuisance and inconvenience; (c) property-related claims, such as trespass, property damage, and loss of use of property; and (d) financial claims, such as lost income or loss-of-business claims.” 

“Consolidation for purposes of adjudicating the motions for remand, with coordinated and consolidated briefing, would avoid each of those undesirable outcomes and diminish the chances of confusion and prejudice that might otherwise result,” commented Judge Copenhaver.

The plaintiffs are represented variously by Mani Ellis & Layne PLLC, The Sutter Law Firm PLLC, DiTrapano Barrett DiPiero McGinley & Simmons PLLC, The Webb Law Firm PLLC, Hill Peterson Carper Bee & Deitzler PLLC, The Bell Law Firm PLLC, John Kennedy Bailey PLLC, the Forbes Law Offices PLLC, the Warner Law Offices PLLC and the Fitzsimmons Law Firm PLLC.

The West Virginia Chemical Spill Class Action Lawsuits are EJ&K Enterprises LLC et al. v. Freedom Industries Inc., Case No. 14-C-46; Adelphia Inc. dba. Adelphia Sports Bar & Grill et al. v. Freedom Industries Inc. et al., Case No. 14-C-48; Dyer et al. v. Freedom Industries Inc. et al., Case No. 14-C-53; and Kanawha Gourmet Sandwiches LLC et al. v. Freedom Industries Inc. et al., Case No. 14-C-55, among others, all in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, West Virginia.

UPDATE 1: On July 18, 2014, a $2.9 million class action settlement was proposed by Freedom Industries to resolve the litigation. 

UPDATE 2: On Sept. 16, 2014, A West Virginia bankruptcy judge approved Freedom Industries Inc.’s class action settlement to benefit 300,000 people whose water was contaminated in the January chemical spill.

UPDATE 3: October 2017, if your business or residential address was affected by West Virginia water contamination on Jan. 9, 2014, you may be entitled to a settlement payment. Click here to file a claim.