Four Vinings homeowners sue Sterigenics over alleged drop in property values
Jan. 31—An Atlanta-area law firm has filed four new lawsuits against Sterigenics over the impact of the company's Smyrna plant on surrounding property values. The firm indicated that hundreds more lawsuits are on their way.
Filed in Cobb State Court this month, the suits allege the medical sterilization plant's emissions of ethylene oxide — a known carcinogen — hurt the values of four homes within 0.7 and 2.7 miles of the plant.
The new litigation adds to a lengthy list of homeowners, residents, and workers who have sued Sterigenics since 2019, when WebMD and Georgia Health News reported the Environmental Protection Agency had identified two census tracts near the plant with elevated health risks due to airborne toxins.
The plant was shuttered for a time but has operated again since the onset of the pandemic amid a nationwide shortage of medical equipment.
Some of the lawsuits relate to alleged health issues related to exposure to ethylene oxide, which the plant uses to sterilize medical equipment.
Then in 2020, Andrew and Bridget Kurt, members of the Stop Sterigenics Georgia activist group, sued alleging their property values declined because of their home's proximity to the plant. The lawsuit came after the Cobb Board of Tax Assessors voted to devalue by 10% some 5,000 homes within a two-mile radius of the plant.
The Kurts are represented by the Eric J. Hertz, P.C. law firm, which is the same firm that filed the new lawsuits last week. The four Vinings filers are Dana and Ross Henderson, Holly and Gary Campbell, Rhonda and Neal Crawford, and Kathryn Measal.
Hertz and fellow attorney Jeff Gerwitz said two of the four homeowners were among those whose houses were devalued by the Board of Assessors, but the allegations also relate to a decline in appraisals independent of the board's decision. The firm is also seeking punitive damages and damages for "loss of enjoyment" of the homes.
"People like to have gardens. People like to cut their yards with no shoes on. People like to have their dogs wrestle around with each other, and roll around in the grass," Gerwitz said. "People like to be able to use their pool. Think about the effect that would have on you, if you knew the air around you was poisoned."
For comparable litigation, the attorneys pointed to the case of Susan Kamuda, an Illinois woman who last year obtained a $363 million verdict for damages related to ethylene oxide exposure near the company's plant in suburban Chicago. Following that case, Sterigenics in January settled for $408 million with as many as 870 people who had pending cases also related to that plant.
Filed in Cobb State Court, the lawsuit also names Sotera Health — Sterigenics' parent company — and Prologis — the plant's landlord — as liable. The MDJ has reached out to both firms for comment.
