Firm File Class Action for Denver Community Contaminated By Brown Group/Redfield Groundwater Contamination

In March 2000, our Firm filed a class action seeking to achieve clean-up, loss in property value and other compensatory damages for solvent and other chemical releases to the groundwater of the Lynwood Neighborhood of south Denver.  The case was brought against Brown Group of St. Louis, Missouri which owned the property and the Redfield Riflescopes manufacturing facility that caused the contamination.  TCE, TCA, DCE and DCA among other chemicals have created a plume of contamination emanating from the former gun sight manufacturing operations to Cherry Creek to the north.  DCE levels in indoor air testing in home has required indoor air ventilation systems for numerous homes.

Data Site Maintained By Brown Group See Indoor Air  Test Results

Snafu Lets Toxins Run Amok, The Denver Post, December 31, 2000

Inaction Haunts Toxic Area, Editorial, The Denver Post, January 3, 2001

NWIS and NRRI v. Public Service Company of Colorado - Verdict Upheld - Supreme Court Denies Review of PSC's Request for Review

This 1998 3 1/2 week trial resulted in a $1.8 million jury verdict on behalf of an owner and an operator of industrial property located next to the Leyden Storage facility operated by Public Service Company of Colorado.  The Leyden Storage facility is the only facility for the underground storage of natural gas made from an abandoned coal mine in the United States. The award, which included $278,000 in punitive damages, proved a total loss in value of this 70 acre property due to the migration of natural gas from Public Service Company's underground storage facility.  The jury found that PSC's storage gas had trespassed on our clients' property, and that PSC had acted recklessly in allowing the trespass.  When Public Service, just weeks after the jury issued its verdict, sought to take the property away from our clients by filing an action to condemn the very property it denied was contaminated, our firm and our co-counsel also successfully defeated that action. The Colorado Court of Appeals upheld the jury's verdict in its entirety on January 6, 2000.  Following are articles with revealing disclosures after the announcement of the decision of the Court of Appeals.

PSC Reckless In :Letting Gas Leak Into Groundwater Court Rules, The Denver Post, January 11, 2000

PSC Confirms Second Gas Leak, The Denver Post, January 12, 2000

State Lax On Leaks At Gas Site, Critics Say - The Denver Post, January 24, 2000

PSC Acts to Stem Gas Leaks, The Denver Post - January 27, 2000

Gas Puts PSCo On Hot Seat, Arvada Sentinel - February 3, 2000

City Accused of Hiding Gas Leak, The Denver Post - February 6, 2000

Channel 7 Editorial - Public Service Gas Leak, The Denver Post - February 15, 2000

Leaking Leyden Natural Gas Storage Plant to Close, The Denver Post - March 8, 2000

Gas Facility Closure Stalled, The Denver Post - July 18, 2000

On June 12, 2000, the Colorado Supreme Court Denied PSC's request for review of the Court of Appeals decision.  The denial means that the jury's verdict stands in its entirety.  Three courts rejected PSC's claim that there was not sufficient evidence to support the jury's conclusion that PSC's storage gas had trespassed onto our client's property, and that PSC had acted recklessly in doing so beyond a reasonable doubt.

High Court Rejects PSC Appeal

Lowry Air Force Base Groundwater  Contamination

Our firm has initiated a class action suit against the United States Air Force for contamination of the Montclair neighborhood of Denver with TCE by the activities at Lowry Air Force Base.  The suit claims the cost of clean up, loss in property value, loss of use and annoyance and discomfort damages for the over 1000 homeowners in this neighborhood lodged between Lowry and old Stapleton Airport.  The TCE has contaminated the groundwater, and been measured in the indoor air of some homes.

Pollution Fears Seep Into Residents' Lives, The Denver Post, November 26, 2000

Residents Near Lowry Sue Air Force Over Pollution, Rocky Mountain News, November 15, 2000

Curry v. JAW Properties

The Hannon Firm represents a mother whose children were poisoned by lead in a Colorado Springs Apartment.  The suit claims damages for her personally and her economic losses associated with the children. EPA announced a law suit against the property owner after the case was filed.

EPA Complaint Targets Springs Landlord