Second Honeywell Class Action Filed over N.Y. Groundwater

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A class action lawsuit filed last week accuses manufacturing companies Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp. and Honeywell International Inc. of contaminating the groundwater of Hoosick Falls, New York.

In November of 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency notified the Village of Hoosick Falls that their groundwater tested positive for higher-than-safe levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and that the water was not safe to drink.

According to the complaint, PFOA “is persistent, having a long half-life for removal, causing continuous damage at the cellular and genetic levels” and has been linked to “increased incidence of cancerous and non-cancerous conditions in humans and animals.”

The class action states that the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) asked Hoosick Falls to be declared a Superfund site due to the groundwater contamination. In February of this year, the NYDEC wrote letters to both Honeywell and Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, identifying them as potentially responsible for the contamination.

The complaint contends that Honeywell, and most recently Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, owned and operated a manufacturing plant, known as the McCaffrey Street Facility in Hoosick Falls that is the probable source for the PFOA. In 2007, Hoosick Falls created a new production well for its water supply that is less than 500 yards from the McCaffrey Street Facility.

Plaintiff Michael Hickey and his infant son, O.H., state that they are residents of Hoosick Falls and have used the contaminated city water supply. Hickey seeks damages for two separate injuries—one to residential property values and the other to personal health—and asks to represent different Classes for each injury.

The first proposed Class is “All current owners of real property located in the Village of Hoosick Falls, New York and/or current owners of real property with a mailing zip code of 12090 or 12089, and who receive their drinking water from the Village Water Supply.” The lawsuit alleges that prices for residential homes have already dropped, and requests compensation for lost property values for anyone who is part of the Class definition.

The second proposed Class is “All individuals who drank and bathed in water contaminated by PFOA originating from the McCaffrey Street Facility and have accumulated PFOA in their bodies but who have not been diagnosed with any specific disease or condition allegedly related to PFOA exposure.”

The class action alleges that Hickey and his infant son have suffered “injury and damage at the cellular and genetic level by the accumulation of PFOA in their bodies,” and seeks “consequential damages sufficient to fund a medical monitoring program that is reasonably tailored to the risks posed by the accumulation of PFOA inside Infant Plaintiff’s and subclass members’ bodies.”

Finally, the lawsuit also seeks punitive damages “because Defendants’ acts were done maliciously, oppressively, deliberately, and in reckless disregard of rights, health and safety” of the plaintiff and other potential Class Members.

This class action follows on the heels of another lawsuit filed in February. The previous Honeywell class action makes similar claims against the Defendants, and also seeks damages for lost property values and compensation for diminished quality of life.

The plaintiffs are represented by Stephen G. Schwarz and Hadley L. Matarazzo of Faraci Lange, LLP, Gerald J. Williams, Esther E. Berezofsky, and Michael J. Quirk of Williams, Cuker & Berezofsky, LLC, and Eric Chaffin and Roopal P. Luhana of Chaffin Luhana LLP.

The Hoosick Falls NY Groundwater Class Action Lawsuit is Michael Hickey, et al. v. Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corp., et al., Case No. 1:16-cv-00394, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.