Crowds line up for PCB lawsuit

Elizabeth Bluemink
10-30-2001

Thousands of potential litigants streamed into the Anniston Entertainment Complex in western Anniston Monday night to sign up for a PCB pollution lawsuit that four law firms intend to file against Monsanto Co. in Birmingham federal court. Local residents began joining PCB pollution lawsuits in 1996 and a handful of cases have been settled. The new case is expected to pit thousands of new plaintiffs against Monsanto, which has been accused of polluting waterways and properties with PCBs, a suspected carcinogen. The company and its spin-off, Solutia Inc., maintain that they acted responsibly regarding the PCB contamination. Anniston and Oxford residents turned out for the 6 p.m. meeting. As they entered the building, they were scanned by security guards and were handed packets including blue ball-point pens and an application form for joining the suit. At 6 p.m., hundreds of people were still filing into the building, which seats approximately 5,000. Traffic choked nearby Cooper Avenue. The meeting itself was closed to the press in order to protect attorney-client privilege, plaintiffs' attorneys said, but before it started, the four law firms held a press conference. Jock Smith, a legal partner to Johnnie Cochran, the celebrity attorney who promised in August to help local residents "clean up" their contaminated neighborhoods, told The Anniston Star that the legal team will focus much of its energy on children's personal injury claims. Yet, there is some question whether adults will be able to file personal injury claims in Alabama court because of differing interpretations of Alabama's statute of limitations. They can file property damage and other types of claims. The lawyers said they will handle potential claims on an "individual" basis and will represent both children and adults. The gargantuan task of evaluating individual claims of as many as 10,000 plaintiffs is "why we have four law firms involved," said attorney Jere Beasley of Montgomery. Beasley's firm is taking the lead role in handling the intended case. Responding to a media question, Beasley said the large size of the intended case will not ruin plaintiffs' chances of obtaining a substantial reward. "It's going to be worthwhile," he said. "We're going to put money in their pockets." Frank Davis, an attorney for the participating Burr & Foreman firm in Birmingham, said the Alabama Supreme Court is expected to rule on the adult personal injury matter. Until then, "it's not clear what the rule in Alabama is," Davis said. Potential plaintiffs from Oxford said they were concerned about their exposure to contaminated creek water. "I played in Snow Creek as a child," said one 47-year-old Oxford resident, who did not want to be identified. Twelve-year-old Adam Williams, an Anniston Middle School student, said he didn't know if his own home was contaminated with Monsanto's PCBs, but commented, "If somebody does that to you, it's like they invaded your property."

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