Ohio District Judge Dismisses All Claims Except Negligence Claims in Alleged Widespread Toxic Waste Disposal Suit
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio dismissed wrongful death, personal injury, and property damage claims brought by a group of 58 Sandusky County, Ohio residents against a manufacturing company related to its disposal of toxic waste. The plaintiffs had alleged that the company used a type of paint in its manufacturing processes that when combusted, produced significant air pollution containing known carcinogens. The lawsuit also claimed that starting in the 1960s, the company dumped hazardous materials at fourteen different sites around the manufacturing plant that led to an increase in cancer within the population.
Only one claim survived the defendant’s comprehensive motion to dismiss, that the defendant breached its duty to safely dispose of its manufacturing waste and that the breach caused the death of five children and cancers in other plaintiffs. In denying the motion to dismiss these claims, the court explained that when viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the complaint alleged that the defendant polluted the land and air around its plant for decades, that government testing confirmed the presence of benzene, lead, PCBs, and other toxins in the soil, and that air samples from the plant showed “unacceptable levels” of benzene and other hazardous materials as recently as 2009 and 2010.
Among other claims, the court dismissed a claim that the defendant’s negligent handling of the toxic chemical waste proximately caused a significant loss of property values to the plaintiffs’ property because under Ohio law, damages for diminished property values caused by environmental stigma—when the value of real property decreases solely to public perception or fear of contamination from a neighboring property—are not compensable. The court also dismissed the plaintiffs’ strict liability claims for conducting an ultra-hazardous activity, trespass and continuing nuisance claims, and stand-alone claims for recklessness and punitive damages.
