News
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Lawsuit Against Toxic Polluter at
28th Street Elementary School Grows
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Legal actions on behalf of dozens of teachers, students and neighbors of 28th Street Elementary School continue to move forward against a metal-plating factory across the street from the central Los Angeles campus.
The L.A. County Superior Court has designated a lawsuit against Palace Plating as “complex” and transferred it to the Central Civil West Courthouse. Cases that involve numerous parties and witnesses, as well as substantial documentary evidence and legal proceedings, are sometimes reassigned to this court for exceptional judicial management. An experienced and knowledgeable trial judge, Emilie Elias, is now in charge of the case.
Lead attorney Roger Gordon applauded the decision to transfer the case. “This means that the relatively complicated legal and medical issues we are presenting will get the time and attention they deserve,” Gordon said.
Judge Elias recently ordered Palace Plating to disclose the names of the companies that manufactured the toxic chemicals identified by the 28th Street plaintiffs in their complaint. Topping the list is Chromium 6, a particularly hazardous chemical that has been well documented to cause cancer in humans.
Also, more than two dozen students have joined the lawsuit against Palace Plating for injuries they have suffered after years of chronic chemical exposure at 28th Street School.
Co-counsel Vincent Vallin Bennett said he was disheartened to review the children's case histories and see the nature and extent of the suffering they have experienced.
"It shocks the conscience to think of the poisonous environment that must exist to cause these injuries – from daily nosebleeds, headaches, nausea and respiratory distress to neurological problems and even ovarian cancer – in elementary school children," Bennett said. "Innocent children shouldn't pay the price for society's obvious lack of concern. This lawsuit will help make a difference."
On another legal front, Palace Plating recently pleaded no contest to illegally disposing hazardous waste. The company was fined $65,000 and ordered to pay $60,000 in additional penalties to the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control.
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