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Kentucky Coal Sludge Litigation
  
Background
On October 11, 2000, a coal waste impoundment (like a lagoon or a lake) near Inez, Kentucky, ruptured, resulting in the spill of 300 million gallons of coal sludge onto many of our clients' properties and into waterways running through the region. Coal sludge is a wet mixture produced by the treatment and cleaning of coal.
The impact of the spill was enormous. Black water and coal sludge surged out of the impoundment, eventually covering more than 75 miles of the area waterways. According to officials from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, it was the worst environmental disaster of its type ever in the southeastern United States.
First Lawsuit
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, along with local co-counsel, represented over 400 property owners in and around Inez.
On behalf of our clients, we sought claims for property damage, including claims for diminution in the value of their homes. In April 2003, the parties reached a confidential settlement of the litigation on terms favorable to the plaintiffs.
2004 Lawsuit
In May 2004, we filed a new lawsuit in Martin Circuit Court, Kentucky, on behalf of an additional 25 property owners whose land was inundated with sludge during the spill.
The property owners allege that defendants damaged their property and caused a nuisance by spilling coal sludge onto their property, into their water supply, and throughout their community. The property owners further allege that defendants misrepresented the safety of the impoundment to state and federal agencies and the public, and knew or should have known that the impoundment was likely to fail.
To contact a Lieff Cabraser attorney concerning this litigation, click here.
About Lieff Cabraser
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is a fifty-plus attorney law firm that has represented plaintiffs nationwide since 1972. We have offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. We represent plaintiffs in class and group actions and in individual lawsuits in cases involving substantial losses. For the last five years, the National Law Journal has selected Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in the nation.
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This website is sponsored by Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, a national plaintiffs' law firm.
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LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & BERNSTEIN, LLP
E-Mail: mail@lchb.com
Firm Website: www.lieffcabraser.com
Notice: Lieff Cabraser attorneys provide legal advice and practice law for clients in federal district courts throughout the United States and in state courts where we are licensed to practice. In states in which our lawyers are not licensed to practice, we have affiliations with local attorneys who serve as co-counsel with our firm. Please read our disclaimer.
Copyright © 2008 Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
 

Toxic & Environmental Exposures
Toxic Exposures
We are committed to protecting our communities from exposure to toxic materials. Learn more.
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