The class has been certified in an action filed against Conoco, Inc., Agrico Chemical Company, and Escambia Treating Company, Inc., on behalf of all persons who own or owned real property in Pensacola, Florida between 1957 and the present. The action alleges that operations at the industrial sites owned by the companies caused ground water contamination in violation of Florida’s trespass and nuisance laws, and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Though persons who are eligible to participate in the action need do nothing at the present time to maintain their status, they should contact class counsel to assure that they are registered.

The defendants in this case are former owners and operators of two separate industrial facilities in Pensacola, the Agrico site and the Escambia Treating Company (ETC) site. The Agrico site is located at the northwest corner of Fairfield Drive and Interstate 110-- it produced fertilizer until 1975 under the ownership of Conoco, Inc., and Agrico Chemical Company. The ETC site is located approximately one-half mile away, at 3910 North Palafox Street-- it chemically treated wood products until 1982 under the ownership of Escambia Treating Company. The locations of these two sites are shown on maps that may be found on a website devoted to the litigation.

The boundaries of the class area are as follows:

a) The northern boundary begins at the intersection of North Palafox Street and Hickory Street; continue east on Hickory Street to Hyatt Street, as if Hickory Street and Hyatt Street were connected to I-110; south on I-110 until reaching Woodland Drive; proceed east on Woodland Drive until reaching Berkley Drive; proceed north and east on Berkley Drive until reaching North 9th Avenue; proceed east until reaching Ellison Drive and proceed south and east on Ellison Drive until reaching North 12th Avenue; proceed south on North 12th Avenue until reaching the eastern shoreline of Bayou Texar.

b) The eastern boundary is the property fronting the eastern shore-line of Bayou Texar from 12th Avenue to Pensacola Bay.

c) The western boundary begins at the intersection of North Palafox Street and Hickory Street and proceeds south on North Palafox Street to the point where East Cross Street would intersect.

d) The southern boundary begins at the point where East Cross Street and North Palafox Street would intersect and continues east on East Cross Street until reaching I-110; proceed east as if East Cross Street continues through North Alcaniz Street mad North Davis Street/North Davis Highway until once again reaching East Cross Street; proceed east on East Cross Street until it ends at Osceola Boulevard; proceed east as if East Cross Street intersects the western shoreline of Bayou Texar and proceed southerly along the shoreline, including the property fronting the western shoreline of Bayou Texar, until reaching Pensacola Bay.

e) Specifically included within the certified class is all real property fronting both the eastern and western shoreline of Bayou Texar.

For any designated street boundary, properties immediately bordering the street on either side are within the class area. Excluded from the class are the defendants in this action, any entity in which any defendant has a controlling interest, any employees, officers or directors of any defendant, and the legal representatives, heirs, successors and assigns of any defendant. The class also excludes all leaseholders, real property types other than commercial and residential, and real property owners prior to 1957.

There is a different action currently pending against the same defendants which asserts medical monitoring claims for alleged exposure to contaminants from the Agrico site and the Escambia Treating Company site. If you have any questions or concerns about the relationship between this class action and the medical monitoring case, you should contact the class administrator.

On October 16, 2003, the court ruled that the claims of any class member who was a member of the community organization Citizens Against Toxic Exposure ("CATE") between August 18, 1994, and March 27, 1997, are barred by the statue of limitations. If you were a member of CATE during that time period, your claims will be forever barred if you do not opt out or exclude yourself from the class by sending a written request to be excluded, postmarked before January 20, 2004, to the class administrator at:

Pensacola Property Litigation
Class Administrator
Analytics, Inc.
P.O. Box 2005
Chanhassen, MN 55317-2005

Your request to be excluded from the class must include (1) your full name, (2) your current home or business address, and (3) the property or properties you wish to exclude from this class action. You also must sign the request and clearly state your intention to be removed from the class. If your request is postmarked after January 20, 2004, you automatically will be included in the class. An electronic version of the exclusion form is available at the website established by the court.