Bridgeport hires law firm for potential lawsuit | News, Sports, Jobs - Martins Ferry Times Leader
BRIDGEPORT — The village retained counsel for a potential national lawsuit against a company or companies connected to the chemicals found in the village’s water source.
During a special council meeting Monday, Bridgeport Village Council entered an agreement with Baron & Budd, P.C., Cossich, Sumich, Parsiola & Taylor LLC, McNamee LLP, and OTHS, Heiser, Miller, Waigand & Glagg LLC for representation in a potential lawsuit against the “appropriate defendants relative to the presence of PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances) in the village’s drinking supply.”
Solicitor Michael Shaheen said the agreement is “purely a contingency arrangement.” He said the law firm would take 30% of whatever the village might receive in a lawsuit.
“We have no responsibility for out-of-pocket expenses or anything. They can’t settle without our approval,” he said.
Shaheen said the national law firm has extensive knowledge of the water contamination issue the village is experiencing, which is what made it a good fit.
In July 2020, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency discovered the village’s water supply contained elevated levels of the chemical PFNA, or Perfluorononanoic acid, a synthetic chemical used in certain coatings.
Because of this discovery, the village was forced to permanently shut down its two contaminated wells. The village now purchases its water from the city of Martins Ferry.
Although a specific company has not yet been named as a defendant, Shaheen said the law firm is working to ensure the right entities that would have allowed the chemical to be dispersed into the water systems will be named.
“We obviously know that we have contaminants in our water. That is an unfortunate, yet all too common occurrence throughout this part of the country. The association that we have now contracted with does just that type of work. They’re very specialized. It’s a conglomerate of firms that have offices and/or services throughout the country,” he said following the meeting. “If our facts and circumstances coincide with the basis for the other pending lawsuits then they’ll include us in the act.”
The lawsuit includes numerous other areas that have also found the PFAS contaminants in their water supply.
In other matters, council unanimously agreed to sell a piece of property located at 4 Oak Street for a minimum of $4,000. The property will be listed in the newspaper five times before the bidding process will conclude.
After the meeting, Shaheen explained that the property was acquired through the Belmont County land bank and is not needed by the village.
Also, council amended a section of an ordinance that was signed last month involving raises for village employees. Shaheen said the amendment involves the work schedule section for the police department.
“The mayor and council acknowledges that, based on recommendation from the police department ,that in fact it’s in the best interest of the department and safety of the village to amend the applicable bi-weekly pay arrangements and work schedules,” he said, adding that the amendment will assist with employment efforts.
The amendment now states that the compensation for police department employees will be based on an 80-hour, bi-weekly period with overtime only being applicable when the employee exceeds the 80 hours in the two-week period.
“One week shall be 36 (hours) and the next, a maximum of 44 (hours),” he said, adding that employees are agreeing to waive the four hours of overtime on the second week.
Chief John Bumba agreed to the change and said it was something the employees were in favor of.
source: https://www.timesleaderonline.com/news/local-news/2022/04/bridgeport-hires-law-firm-for-potential-lawsuit/
Your content is great. However, if any of the content contained herein violates any rights of yours, including those of copyright, please contact us immediately by e-mail at media[@]kissrpr.com.