2 Secord Ave. Residents Launch $100 Million Class Action Lawsuit Over Explosion
Posted September 4, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
You had to know this was coming – another class action lawsuit. But this one isn’t over tainted meat or a propane explosion.
Instead, it’s on behalf of the residents of 2 Secord Ave., the apartment building devastated by a hydro blast on July 20th. Hundreds of residents were forced out of their homes for as long as a month after the explosion weakened the structure and left soot and grime all over everything.
Several tenants were also robbed during the evacuation and most were forced to flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They were allowed to briefly return to collect their belongings, and were finally given the all-clear late last week to come home.
But many didn’t want to return, feeling that the complex still isn’t safe, complaining that the chemical smell from the cleaning agents used were making them sick, worrying about the dirt left behind and openly angry that property owner The Preston Group would not allow them to break their leases without a few months notice.
And that’s where the legal firms of Falconer Charney, Hotz Lawyers and Sutts, Strosberg come in. They’ve now filed a $100 million class action lawsuit on behalf of the renters, hoping to seek some kind of compensation for their troubles – and the fact that many still consider themselves homeless.
“Despite statements that tenants can return to their units, the fact is that most of the units remain uninhabitable because of smoke and soot damage,” lawyer Ted Charney explains in a statement. “This lawsuit is intended to compensate residents for damages to their contents and the cost incurred for additional living expenses while they remain displaced.”
A city filled with so many explosions of concern has also led to an explosion of these suits. Class action proceedings have also been launched against Sunrise Propane for the Murray Road detonation that leveled a neighbourhood and against Maple Leaf Foods for those who were sickened by or died from the listeriosis outbreak.
A class action suit isn’t a fait accompli. It must first be certified by a judge before it can proceed and there’s no guarantee on how much those who choose to participate will get back if it succeeds.
