PITTSBURGH - FirstEnergy Corp. has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a security guard who sued it and four other FirstEnergy entities over an alleged fall down stairs.
“In their complaint, Plaintiffs name five separate defendants. None is identified as the possessor or operator of the site where the injury allegedly occurred," the motion says.
"Rather, Plaintiffs allege that one, unidentified ‘defendant’ was in control of the site."
In their motion, the defendants allege the plaintiffs did not do any research on the plant to find out who the proper defendant should be.
The list of defendants: FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company, FirstEnergy Generation Corp., FirstEnergy Corp., FirstEnergy Generation Mansfield Unit 1 Corp. and FirstEnergy Generation LLC.
“Had they conducted such an investigation, they would have realized before filing not only that FENOC was the possessor and operator, but also that FENOC and two other defendants (FirstEnergy Generation, LLC, and FirstEnergy Generation Mansfield Unit 1 Corp.) are in an active bankruptcy proceeding and a fourth entity (FirstEnergy Generation Corp.) has not existed since 2012, when it became now bankrupt FirstEnergy Generation, LLC,” the motion said.
The plaintiffs, Shawn McElroy and his wife, Amber McElroy, claim that Shawn fell down a wooden staircase while working his job as a security guard at the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station.
“As a result, Mr. McElroy alleges that he suffered extensive injuries and is entitled to monetary damages; Mrs. McElroy seeks damages for a loss-of-consortium claim,” the motion said.
“With Plaintiffs reference to a single, generic ‘defendant’ throughout the complaint, and the publicly known fact that FENOC was the possessor and operator of the plant, it is impossible for FirstEnergy Corp. to know what it is alleged to have done and to respond accordingly. Thus, in the event the complaint is not dismissed (and it should be), the Plaintiffs should be required to file a more definite statement of its allegations against FirstEnergy Corp."