$17.5 Million Class Action Settlement

The Superior Court of New Jersey recently granted preliminary approval to a settlement in a class action that Davis Environmental Law prosecuted on behalf of the owners of 427 residential properties in Nutley and Clifton, New Jersey.

The case began when we were approached by a homeowner who got notice that the groundwater on his property had been contaminated by run-off from the headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc.  The notice invited him to a public meeting where Roche stated that it was taking legal responsibility for the runoff but would not compensate the affected homeowners. After factual investigation and legal research, we filed a class action on behalf of those homeowners seeking compensation for the effect of the contamination on their property values.

The Defendants included Deluxe Corporation, another large corporation whose operations on property next to Roche had also resulted in groundwater contamination, as well as the municipalities who operated sewers in the area.  All four defendants vigorously opposed our right to proceed as a class action, but they lost that fight, as stated in the copy of the trial Court Order and Opinion allowing the class action. The defendants appealed that ruling, aided by a lobbying group who briefed their point of view as an amicus curiae, or “friend of the court,” but we defeated all the appeals, as stated in the copy of the Appellate Division opinion affirming the trial court. We also defeated motions for leave to appeal the Appellate Division opinion to the New Jersey Supreme Court.

After all that, we were able to negotiate a settlement.  On October 21,  2021, the trial Court granted preliminary approval to a $17.5 million settlement in favor of the Class.  Claims administration is proceeding, and the Court has scheduled a hearing on June 20,2022 where we will seek final approval to distribute settlement funds to the homeowners.