ARTICLE -TOXIC LAW REPORTER
A WEEKLY REVIEW OF TOXIC TORTS, HAZARDOUS WASTE,
& INSURANCE LITIGATION
Volume 11, Number 4 June 26, 1996
* * *
VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS - ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
Chromium Waste
ALLIED SIGNAL SETTLES NEW JERSEY CLASS ACTION; BALL FIELD
USERS TO RECEIVE MEDICAL SCREENING
A New Jersey court approved settlement June 14 of a "groundbreaking"
class action in which AlliedSignal Inc. agreed to pay a local
hospital for up to 30 years of medical screening for hundreds
of plaintiffs allegedly exposed to chromium waste at a local
park (Russo v. AlliedSignal Inc., NJ SuperCt HudsonCnty, No.
HUD L-9394-92, settlement approved 6/19/96).
Plaintiffs' attorney Angelo Cifaldi said the settlement
in the New Jersey Superior Court for Hudson County was "a
good resolution" because it provides plaintiffs who may
have been exposed to waste deposited at Metro Park in Jersey
City, N.J., with comprehensive medical monitoring that will
assure early detection of cancers or other chromium-induced
ailments.
The settlement also "preserves the right to pursue
personal injury actions for latent injuries," Cifaldi
told BNA June 19.
Cifaldi said some 150-200 residents have informed plaintiffs'
counsel they will participate in the screening program, which
will be conducted exclusively at Christ Hospital in Jersey
City.
According to Cifaldi, the toxic tort suit - the first to
be certified in New Jersey (8 TXLR 1445) - defines the class
as anyone who played in at least 10 athletic games or participated
in at least 20 hours of recreational activities at the field
before a 1992 cleanup. Cifaldi said the suit was also groundbreaking
because it established that medical monitoring is available
in class actions in New Jersey.
Company Workers Stopped Using Field in 1950s
According to the 1992 suit, AlliedSignal predecessor Mutual
Chemical Co. of America dumped chromium produced at an adjacent
factory at the site in the late 1940s (7 TXLR 677). Mutual
Chemical leveled off the site in the 1950s to create an athletic
field for the company softball team. The company workers stopped
using the field within two years after complaining about severe
ulcerations and body sores.
The site was later used as a public recreational area, but
was shut down by state environmental officials when tests
showed the soil contained concentrations of chromium some
400 times the safe level.
Cifaldi said the suit originally sought damages for personal
injury. But local residents' responses to health questionnaires
mailed with class action notices did not establish any present
compensable injuries, he said. Because diseases linked to
long-term chromium exposure may take decades to manifest symptoms,
Cifaldi said it was important to reserve the right to pursue
injury claims later. He added that settlement talks never
broached whether future potential injury claims could or should
be resolved now.
Cifaldi and Alfred M. Anthony of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer in Woodbridge, N.J., represented the plaintiffs. Thomas
F. Campion of Shanley & Fisher in Morristown, N.J., represented
AlliedSignal.
(Russo v. AlliedSignal Inc., NJ SuperCt HudsonCnty, No.
HUD L-9394-92, settlement approved 6/19/96).
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