Goldberg Kohn Representing East Chicago Homeowners in Contamination Suit Against USS Superfund Lead Sites
David Chizewer, a principal in the firm's Litigation Group, along with Emily Gilman, a Litigation associate, are representing East Chicago homeowners pro-bono in a suit against five lead companies associated with severely contaminating soil and homes in the East Chicago USS Lead Superfund Site. The lead companies, and their successors, have produced, manufactured or generated hazardous, airborne contaminants in the city's Calumet sections for decades.
The EPA did not fully grasp the magnitude of the contamination at the USS Lead site until it began undertaking more extensive testing, between 2014 and 2016. The data revealed certain areas of the site had lead levels as high as 91,000 parts per million of lead in the soil, and 32,000 ppm indoors. The EPA’s action-level for cleanup is 400 parts per million of lead in the soil.
Thirty-eight homeowners are being represented in the suit, which seeks compensatory, punitive and other damages for residents' emotional distress, diminished property values, remediation costs not covered under EPA's cleanup and more. All the plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $75,000 as well as punitive damages to deter the defendants and other companies and individuals from acting in a similar manner. In the lawsuit, East Chicago homeowners assert that the businesses that either formerly owned the factories close to their neighborhood or have since purchased the properties were negligent and allowed hazardous substances to contaminate their yards and homes.
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