Class Action Lawsuit Filed Over Gas Leak in Los Angeles

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A class action lawsuit filed on Nov. 23 claims that Southern California Gas Company and Sempra Energy were negligent and caused a major gas leak that has severely affected the Porter Ranch community in Los Angeles.

A leak at the natural gas storage and pumping plant in Aliso Canyon, one mile from Porter Ranch, was first reported on Oct. 23. According to the class action lawsuit, the gas company defendants have not been able to stop the leak, and have admitted the leak will likely continue for months while the gas companies drill a new well.

Plaintiff William Gandsey alleges in the class action lawsuit that his “home, property, and community have been, and continue to be, physically invaded by gases, chemicals, noxious odors, pollutants, and contaminants emanating from the natural gas leak at Defendants’ Aliso Canyon facility.”

Southern California Gas Company is the largest natural gas utility in the United States, and the Aliso Canyon storage facility is their largest in Southern California, the LA natural gas class action lawsuit states. Natural gas is pumped and stored under the ground and distributed as needed, but the well at Aliso Canyon is leaking. The class action lawsuit notes that the Aliso Canyon facility is in the middle of a large construction project to replace its compressors.

Since the natural gas leak, people who live in Porter Ranch have complained of “nausea, dizziness, vomiting, shortness of breath, nose bleeds, and headaches,” the class action lawsuit alleges. In addition to methane, the complaint states that in Porter Ranch, “air testing has revealed the presence of benzene (a known carcinogen), tuolene (a substance when inhaled in low levels is known to cause tiredness, confusion, weakness, memory loss, nausea, and loss of appetite), hydrogen sulfides, and sulfur dioxide.”

The LA natural gas class action lawsuit estimates that the amount of methane released into the air in the past month by the Aliso Canyon facility is equal to the one-quarter of the total methane for the entire state of California.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has recommended that Southern California Gas Company and Sempra Energy help residents relocate by finding and paying for temporary housing. However, the class action lawsuit alleges that not enough information has been provided to Porter Ranch residents about relocation.

The LA natural gas class action lawsuit seeks to create a class of “All California residents who reside in the Porter Ranch community of Los Angeles, California, who have been exposed to gases and noxious odors emanating from the natural gas leak at Defendants’ Aliso Canyon Storage Facility since October 23, 2015.”

The class action lawsuit asks for damages for Class Members and more information to residents on the amount of their exposure to the gas and chemicals released by the Aliso Canyon plant, the health impacts of that exposure, and whether or not they should relocate until the gas leak is fixed.

Gandsey is represented by Richard D. McCune and David C. Wright of McCune Wright LLP, and Taras Kick of The Kick Law Firm, APC.

The LA Natural Gas Class Action Lawsuit is Gandsey v. Southern California Gas Company, et al., Case No. BC 601844, in the California State Superior Court in Los Angeles County.