Maryland's first class action suit filed
GAMBRILLS, MD, Nov. 29, 2007 -- Murphy & Falcon, P.A. of Baltimore filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Gambrills, Maryland residents whose wells have been contaminated by nearby fly ash dump sites operated by Constellation Power Source Generation Inc. on property owned by BBSS Inc. in Anne Arundel County. The complaint was filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Md.
Gambrills residents have been affected by groundwater contaminated with toxins including arsenic, lead and cadmium, which are linked to cancer and other serious health effects. So far, 34 residential wells have been polluted by Constellation's reckless negligence. The dump sites also sit atop the deep aquifer that supplies Crofton's municipal wells, which residents fear may be threatened by future contamination.
"What this $19-billion dollar a year energy giant continues to do to this community is blatantly unconscionable," said Prince Georges County Executive Wayne Curry, a member of the Murphy firm legal team. "To add insult to injury, they told this community for years that dumping fly ash in an old mine site was actually beneficial."
Curry added: "Constellation seems to think these neighbors should be able to get by on bottled water and garden hoses hooked up to fire hydrants, while they constantly worry over their health and watch their property values plummet."
"By filing this suit, the victims and the Murphy firm legal team form the vanguard of citizens trying to solve a national health and environmental crisis," said Curry. "Under-regulated fly ash dumps are scattered throughout the U.S. and many of them are badly polluting groundwater, surface water and the air with contaminated dust at a risk to individuals living near the dump sites. Regulations have failed in so many instances to protect nearby residents, so people must bring suit to protect themselves."
Murphy & Falcon, P.A., is led by nationally known litigator William H. Murphy Jr. The firm specializes in complex civil litigation including commercial, personal injury, medical malpractice, employment, civil rights and class action
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