NJ Toxic Waste Exposure Lawsuit Settled by Ford
The Ford Motor Co. has settled a lawsuit filed by residents of a northern New Jersey town over toxic waste dumped there nearly 40 years ago. According to an article, the settlement was announced in state Superior Court. The residents of Ringwood, about 25 miles northeast of New York City, will receive about $10 million.
An attorney for the Plaintiffs alleged that they had been injured by exposure to toxic chemicals at the Ringwood landfill site. After more than three years of litigation, the parties have entered into a settlement that will resolve all the claims in the litigation.
Under terms of the settlement, Ford and two other defendants, URS Corp. and Arrow Group Industries, admitted no liability for the residents’ claims of health problems caused by the waste.
The article stated that during the 1960s and 1970s, contractors hired by Ford dumped thousands of tons of paint sludge and heavy metals from a car manufacturing plant in nearby Mahwah into landfills, open pits and an abandoned mine that dates back to the 18th century.
The Ringwood site was placed on the federal Superfund list, a ranking of the country’s worst environmental dump sites, in 1983.
Large amounts of hardened paint sludge and other waste were discovered. A joint federal-state report released that year found the site contained potentially unsafe levels of metals and chemicals.
Residents blamed the toxins for serious illnesses including certain cancers and skin diseases, and about 700 of them joined a lawsuit in 2006.
A class action suit effectively gives a group of consumers having similar experiences the ability to sound their disapproval of an undesirable product or action offered by a corporation.
At Cherry, Fieger & Marciano our Pennsylvania class action lawyers represent consumers, injured persons, and small business claims in class action lawsuits with the intention of receiving monetary or other damage claims within the Federal and Pennsylvania State court systems.
The purpose of a Philly class action lawsuit is to allow a group of individuals with like grievances against one company or other entity instead of dozens of similar cases tying up the courts. In the class action lawsuit, the group of plaintiffs is often represented by one or more within that group and if the conditions are right, the results may apply to not only the claims of those individuals but the claims of the entire group as well.
If you are currently a member of a class action suit at the Federal level or within the State of Pennsylvania, contact a Philadelphia class action lawyer at Cherry, Fieger & Marciano for assistance in assessment of your case.
Source report: http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation_world/20090904_ap_attorneyfordsettlesnjtoxicwastelawsuit.html
