http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Village-officials-vote-to-sue-PFOA-polluters-12486059.php
Hoosick Falls board files water crisis lawsuits
Manufacturers blamed for contamination; legal, public relations firm target of 2nd suit
Updated 10:49 pm, Tuesday, January 9, 2018
HOOSICK FALLS - The Village Board voted Tuesday night to take legal actions they say would ease the financial burdens imposed by PFOA contamination of its soil and drinking water.
The village trustees voted unanimously to sue Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics and Honeywell International for damages, blaming them for causing the contamination of the chemical linked to various diseases including several cancers. The second lawsuit will challenge the more than $582,000 that FitzGerald Morris Baker Firth and its public relations firm Behan Communications want to charge the village for work done on a failed class action lawsuit against the companies last winter.
"It's been weighing on me," said Mayor Robert Allen. "It's an unfortunate step, but a necessary one."
Attorney David Engel of Nolan & Heller in Albany will take on the companies in a suit seeking a significant amount of money, for costs the village has already incurred and expected costs into the future. Engel said he tried to negotiate with both Saint-Gobain and Honeywell, but was unsuccessful. One of the main issues is that the companies want to be released from all future responsibilities for the PFOA contamination.
"The sad truth is a lawsuit is the best way to prompt a meaningful discussion," Engel said.
Andrew Gilchrist, the Troy lawyer for the village on the billing issue, could not predict what the legal costs will be. Gilchrist said he too tried to come to an agreement without litigation, but said FitzGerald Morris and Behan have filed a notice of claim, seeking the payment. As they intend to sue the village, the village has no choice but to go to court, he said.
Trustee Brian Bushner said he had hoped that Saint-Gobain and Honeywell would be good neighbors. But he said the companies "keep kicking us when we are down."
Last year, Hoosick Falls trustees came close to settling with the companies for just over $1 million, with the caveat that the village would be prohibited from bringing future claims against Saint Gobain and Honeywell related to pollution. That proposed deal sparked outcry from residents as well as state and federal leaders.
The settlement was negotiated by FitzGerald Morris on behalf of the village was tabled by the board in February 2017. It included roughly $310,000 in fees payable to the law firm, intended to cover the costs of the small community's expenses for engineering, water sampling and legal and public relations advice.
A new village administration, voted into office last March, voided the law firm's contract.
"This is incredibly difficult," Bushner said. "I'm angry to have to come to this decision. It's unfair to the village.
At one point in their discussion, Loreen Hackett, a resident who has been outspoken about the contamination, ran up to the trustee table with her cell phone displaying a photo of her granddaughter who suffers migraines and seizures. She believes her illnesses are caused by PFOA.
"It doesn't matter how much it will cost," Hackett shouted. "You have to do it for the kids. This is for the kids."
Liz Moran, water and natural resources director of Environmental Advocates of New York, has been following the PFOA crisis in Hoosick Falls closely. She agrees something must be done to force the companies to do right by the residents.
"It's no secret that the polluters need to pay up," Moran said. "They certainly have the money. To make a small community go through this, it's just not right. This pollution is not going away. It's in people's system, they are suffering health impacts. The companies could have a new water system for them in no time. But this has been going on for two years. And they knew about it a year and a half before that. The people of Hoosick Falls have waited a long time for justice."
