Toxic Tort

LaMontagne & Terhar attorneys have litigated a number of "toxic tort" cases over the years covering the full spectrum of such cases from single plaintiff cases to class actions in state court, and multi-district litigation in federal court. These cases have included single exposure events to multiple exposure claims such as lead poisoning. Notable cases have involved:

(1) Defense of a vacuum truck company which accidentally lost its load in the downtown area of a small city resulting in the complete evacuation of the business district for a day. This resulted in an attempted class action in state court for a class of "business interruption" claims as well as a "personal injury class." Plaintiffs never obtained class certification and the case was subsequently dismissed by the court on procedural grounds which were sustained on appeal. Additionally, there were claims under CERCLA for clean up expenses as well as claims by governmental agencies for emergency services (police, fire, paramedics, and traffic control).

(2) Defense of one of the component part suppliers to the "stealth bomber" against cancer claims by certain aerospace workers on the project.

(3) Defense of a manufacturer of composite material regarding a claim of ocular cancer of an independent contractor due to resin fumes.

(4) Defense of a yacht distributor regarding claims of lead poisoning by the purchaser allegedly due to the construction of the yacht fresh water storage system.

(5) Defense of an auto repair facility whose repair caused a vehicle fire and resultant smoke inhalation by the occupants allegedly causing permanent neurological impairment.