$75M settlement reached in toxic landfill case
21st March 2022 · 0 Comments
By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer
Orleans Civil District Court Judge Nicole Sheppard awarded a $75 million judgment for emotional distress and property damage to 5,000 current and former residents of the Gordon Plaza and Press Park subdivisions, both of which were built on a toxic landfill.
“This is a big deal for the residents of Agriculture Street,” Suzette Bagneris, a lead attorney representing residents, told The Associated Press.
On Bagneris’ Facebook page, she wrote a more emotional response about the lawsuit she initially filed in 1993, stating “The tears are flowing. This was a 30 year journey. I stayed committed to this case even when my own clients crucified me in the press. I just kept working and winning.”
The defendants in the lawsuit were the City of New Orleans, the Housing Authority of New Orleans, and the Orleans Parish School Board. Judge Sheppard ruled they were liable for the consequences of building the Gordon Plaza and Press Park subdivisions, as well as Moton Elementary School, on top of the Agriculture Street landfill.
The site was first used as a dump in 1909. It was closed in 1952, then reopened as a landfill. Much of the debris from Hurricane Betsy would be deposited on the site. It officially closed in 1966. In 1978, the old dump site was developed as a residential neighborhood with 67 single-family homes, 225 townhouses and a 128-unit apartment complex.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) labeled the Agriculture Street landfill as a Superfund site in the 1990s. Superfund sites are polluted areas requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations. A 2019 report from Louisiana State University discovered the Desire neighborhood, which includes Gordon Plaza, had the second-highest cancer rate in Louisiana.
In November, EPA administrator Michael Regan toured the Agriculture Street site. The Associated Press reported on Regan’s visit to the site and included comments Regan received from residents.
“You’re trying to live out the American Dream – which turns out to be a nightmare – and you can’t get justice, you know,” resident Earl Smothers said in November.
Dozens of mostly Black families still live in the polluted area. The EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory shows Black Americans and other minority groups make up 56 percent of people living near toxic sites like refineries, landfills and chemical plants.
The Associated Press reported resident Lydwina Hurst calling the situation “environmental racism” during Regan’s visit.
A city spokesperson declined to tell The New Orleans Advocate whether or not the city would appeal the judgment. The New Orleans Advocate also noted the city had more than 560 outstanding judgments and settlements in state and federal courts, with some dating back 25 years.
The city’s track record casts doubt on when residents will receive compensation, but residents did voice their support of the ruling.
“It’s good news that will hopefully get some of us off this nasty landfill,” Gordon Plaza homeowner Jesse Perkins told The New Orleans Advocate.
Bagneris told The New Orleans Advocate the $75 million will be apportioned based on factors including the number of years each resident lived in the affected places and the locations of their homes. For example, someone who lived in Gordon Plaza for 20 or more years could receive $25,000 and 20 percent of the value of their home.
However, most of the houses have little value due to their location.
“My property taxes were $57 last year. That gives you an idea of the value of my house,” Perkins told The New Orleans Advocate.
This article originally published in the March 21, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
