DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The law firm of Baron & Budd, P.C. praised the City of Hartford, Conn., and Hartford Board of Education for taking an important step in leading the fight for schools who find contaminants in their buildings. Hartford filed a lawsuit to hold Monsanto Company responsible for the costs of removing chemicals known as polychlorinated biphenyls (or “PCBs”) from several school buildings.
According to the complaint, PCBs are man-made chemical compounds that were produced by Monsanto Company in the United States from the early 1930s until the late 1970s. During those five decades, Monsanto’s PCBs were incorporated into a variety of products and applications including electrical equipment, paints, caulks, and other building materials. In response to widespread environmental contamination, Congress banned the production and use of PCBs as of January 1, 1979. But many PCB products that were installed before that time remain in place. Accordingly, PCBs are likely to be present in any number of materials present in a school built or renovated during this period including paint, caulk, fluorescent light ballasts, and other materials. It has been reported that many other schools in Connecticut have found PCBs in their buildings.
Attorney Scott Summy, a shareholder at Baron & Budd, P.C., a law firm that represents Hartford in the lawsuit, believes that Monsanto should shoulder the burden for the contamination: “No company should be allowed to contaminate our schools and rely upon taxpayers to clean up the mess.” His firm has recently filed similar lawsuits on behalf of school districts in Massachusetts and Louisiana and on behalf of the cities of San Diego, San Jose, and Spokane for PCB contamination of stormwater systems. Mr. Summy further stated, “Monsanto placed PCBs in the stream of commerce knowing of their toxicity and inevitable escape into the environment.”
About Baron & Budd, P.C.
Baron & Budd, P.C., based in Dallas, Texas, has represented hundreds of public entities nationwide whose water supplies, properties, or natural resources are affected by chemical contaminants.
