A nearly $60 million settlement has been reached over claims that a gas leak at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Sun Valley power plant sickened more than 1,200 people, lawyers announced Thursday.
The lawsuit alleges that LADWP’s failure to stop the methane gas leak endangered neighborhoods with large Black and Latino populations in Sun Valley and Pacoima.
For years, residents were exposed to toxic fumes that caused chronic headaches, nosebleeds, shortness of breath and nausea, according to the lawsuit.
Leticia Tashian, a plaintiff in the case, remembers noticing an unpleasant odor when she first moved to the area.
“About a year or two after I moved here, I started smelling gas every time I went outside to work in the garden,” Tashian said. “I kept telling my husband, “I smell gas.”
Tashian said he started feeling unwell and suffering from headaches in 2015. Eventually, she said she discovered the cause of her illness.
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Sun Valley Power Plant. (KTLA) Resident Letitia Tashian said her home is near the Sun Valley Power Plant and she has been smelling a gas leak for years. (KTLA) Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Sun Valley Power Plant. (KTLA) Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Sun Valley Power Plant. (KTLA)
Tashian’s home is near the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Sun Valley Power Plant. The lawsuit alleges that gas began leaking from pumps at the plant around 2015.
“It wasn’t until I became part of the neighborhood association that I met other women who had the same problem,” Tashian said.
The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in February 2021. A few years later, more residents started connecting the dots.
Lawyer Jason Fowler, who is representing the residents, said it was his law firm’s staff who discovered the gas leak and eruption from the plant.
“As a result, people started asking questions and started associating it with, ‘Hey, that’s what I smell like,'” Fowler said. “And as more people contacted our office complaining of the same thing, we were able to investigate further and file this lawsuit.”
Lawyers said more than 1,200 people living between Sun Valley and Pacoima were unknowingly becoming ill from years of exposure to toxic gases.
Prosecutors said a judge reached a $59,892,000 settlement, ruling that LADWP failed to properly inspect the equipment and notify residents of the dangers.
The affected communities were primarily populated by blacks and Latinos.
“They don’t care about it,” said community activist Ruben Rodriguez. “I don’t think they believe that Latino and minority communities have the same value as non-Latino communities.”
Rodriguez helped rally the local Latino community around the case and said she feels some justice has been served given the settlement.
“If it happens again, we have to deal with it as soon as possible,” Rodriguez said. “To give it as much importance as they give to the British community.”
“I’m happy because I know that at least they’re admitting that what they were doing wasn’t right,” Tashian said.
“This remarkable settlement will bring much-needed relief and justice to a neglected community that has been poisoned for years,” said R. Rex of Parris, the attorney who handled the case.・Mr. Paris said. “We are proud of this outcome and proud to have held the city accountable for this catastrophe.”
Regarding the settlement, officials said a judge will decide how much each plaintiff will receive.
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