PITTSBURGH – A Western Pennsylvania woman has filed a class action lawsuit against a local scrap metal processing facility, claiming that the facility’s operation led to the emission of noxious odors, particulates and imposition of noise on a number of surrounding area homeowners.
Sonia Kowal (on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated) of Emsworth filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Nov. 5 versus Metalico Pittsburgh, Inc. (doing business as “Metalico Neville Recycling”), of Neville Township.
The suit explains that the facility is located on an isle in the Ohio River in Neville Township, and is adjacent to residential properties.
“The facility accepts substantial qualities of ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metals from various entities, including demolition contractors, machine shops, fabricators and general manufacturers. The scrap metals accepted by the facility include, but are not limited to, steel, iron, aluminum, copper, lead and nickel-based steel and other high-temperature alloys. The facility also accepts discarded automobiles,” the suit says.
“These scrap metals are broken down and sorted using smashers and shredders, ad them melted in furnaces at high temperatures. Barges are used to transport materials to and from the facility. The byproducts generated by the facility’s operations include noxious odors and gases, dust, flames, smoke and plumes, ash and soot and metallic particles. The plaintiff’s and putative class’s properties have been, and continue to be, physically invaded by fugitive noxious odors and air particulates emitted from the facility.”
The suit continued that a “properly designed, operated and maintained scrap metal facility will adequately capture, remove and dispose of noxious odors and air particulates, and prevent them from escaping into the air as fugitive emissions.”
“Defendant has failed to use adequate odor and particulate mitigation strategies, processes, technologies and/or equipment to control fugitive emissions from the facility and prevent those fugitive emissions from physically invading the homes and properties of the plaintiff and putative class,” the suit states.
The suit continues that the facility has allegedly had a similar disregard for noise management, and has allowed the class plaintiffs to be disturbed night and day by the facility’s operations.
For counts of private nuisance, public nuisance and negligence, the plaintiffs are seeking a long list of reliefs, including judgment for a monetary amount in excess of the jurisdictional limits of compulsory arbitration, actual, compensatory and punitive damages, including pre- and post-judgment interest, an order that the aforementioned noxious odors, particulates and noise upon the plaintiffs’ properties constituted a nuisance, an order that the defendant bringing said odors, particulates and noise constituted negligence, an award to the plaintiffs for injunctive relief consistent with the defendant’s state and federal regulatory obligations, such further relief, both general and specific, that the Court deems just and proper, in addition to a trial by jury.
The plaintiffs are represented by James E. DePasquale of James E. DePasquale Law, in Pittsburgh.
The defendant has not yet obtained legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-21-013665
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com