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Case ID: 4602 | Environmental | 01/16/2006
A class action lawsuit filed in Spokane U.S. District Court blames Columbia Rural Electric Association and Asplundh Tree Experts for the 2005 School Fire.
The lawsuit was filed by Keller W. Allen, a former Pasco resident who owns about 1,200 acres in Columbia County. The School Fire started Aug. 5 after a tree branch fell on a power line in the Tucannon River drainage's School Canyon. It raged for 13 days, burning 52,000 acres and destroying 215 homes, recreational cabins and outbuildings. The cost of fighting the blaze was nearly $12.4 million. Allen and his attorney, both of Spokane, Washington, say the tree that the branch tumbled from was a dead 52-foot Ponderosa pine. The tree was "structurally impaired," according to the lawsuit, and should have been removed long ago by Columbia REA, which owns and operates power lines in the area. The lawsuit contends the snag was visible from a road routinely used by Columbia REA. Pennsylvania-based Asplundh Tree Expert Co. is named as a defendant because Columbia REA had a contract with the company to keep the right of way clear of hazards, the attorney for the plaintiffs stated. One of the attorneys representing homeowners said the fire could have been prevented if the tree had been cut down. If a judge approves the class action, anyone who suffered losses because of the fire automatically would be included in the lawsuit unless they asked to be excluded. The lawsuit alleges that damages exceed $5 million, but an exact amount cannot be determined until each individual claim is considered.
At Lawcash.com, it is our goal to keep you informed about important legal cases, class actions and settlements. Our lawyers offer free legal evaluations in tort cases, class actions, personal injury, and other lawsuits because we are dedicated to helping you resolve your legal complaints. Other Environmental Cases of Interest Kahn Gauthier Swick is investigating possible legal actions against Norfolk Southern and other responsible parties after a train carrying chlorine as well as several other toxic chemicals crashed into a parked train at the Avondale Mills Textile Plant in the small town of Graniteville, South Carolina, in Aiken County, on January 6, 2005, causing eight deaths, hundreds of injuries and an evacuation of the surrounding area. The parties have reached a tentative $65 million settlement in an action filed against Union Pacific Corporation on behalf of thousands of evacuees who were forced to leave their homes in Eunice, Louisiana, after a train derailment on May 27, 2000. Persons eligible to take part in the settlement should contact attorneys for the class for more information. Groundwater and soil contamination from leaking underground fuel tanks poses an extraordinary carcinogenic danger to the U.S. population. The parties have reached a tentative settlement in an action filed against the Exxon Corporation on behalf of all persons who own property in South Carolina that might have been contaminated with petroleum products released into the environment from equipment owned or operated by Exxon or from Exxon service stations. Eligible owners of property in South Carolina (who don't have to be SC residents) should contact the class attorneys for information regarding participation in the settlement.
Some of the species in Prince William Sound have not fully recovered to this day. The court has ruled that Exxon Mobil Corporation must pay nearly $7 billion in damages to the fishermen and communities affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The ruling, which ends the lawsuit's third trip through the federal trial court, eventually could mean millions of dollars for Washington fishermen who worked in the waters of Prince William Sound and near Kodiak, Alaska. The money will not be distributed until all possible appeals have been exhausted. After nearly a decade of legal disputes, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. agreed to pay $295 million to settle a series of lawsuits alleging the utility sickened hundreds of people by contaminating the water in three California counties. The settlement, affecting about 1,100 people in Kings, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, moves PG&E closer to resolving a bitter battle that resurrected claims from a similar case made famous in the movie, "Erin Brockovich." A proposed class action settlement between plaintiffs representing business and residential consumers of electricity in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington and defendants Reliant Energy, Inc. and its affiliates. The lawsuit is pending in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Diego. |
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