ATLANTA, November 18, 2024—In an order issued Friday, Judge Sarah E. Geraghty of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia appointed DiCello Levitt LLP; Bondurant Mixson & Elmore, LLP; Morgan & Morgan, P.A.; and Stewart Miller Simmons to serve as Plaintiffs’ Interim Co-Lead Class Counsel on behalf of more than 90,000 residents and business owners in Conyers, Georgia and surrounding areas who have been affected by the recent fire at Bio-Lab’s and KIK Custom Products’ Conyers facility.
The fire that began on September 29, 2024 at the Conyers facility created a massive plume of smoke and toxic fumes, which prompted the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners to declare a State of Emergency and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate and shelter-in-place for weeks.
“I am honored to have been entrusted with helping people restore their homes, businesses, and lives back to where they were before they were damaged by this catastrophic event, and I look forward to working with co-counsel to pursue justice for the tens of thousands of affected residents,” said Daniel R. Flynn, chair of DiCello Levitt’s Environmental Litigation practice group, who was appointed Interim Co-Lead Class Counsel.
The lawsuit, In re: Bio-Lab Class Actions, Civil Action No. 1:24-CV-4407-SEG, asserts claims for negligence, nuisance, and trespass, alleging that as a result of the preventable fire and resulting plume of smoke and toxic fumes, Plaintiffs and the class have suffered property-related damages, including but not limited to loss of use and enjoyment; investigation, cleanup, and remediation costs; loss of profits; and diminution of property values.
“This environmental disaster should never have occurred,” Flynn added. “This is not the first time Bio-Lab has endangered this community. Their history of similar incidents over the past two decades is unacceptable. The burden of this egregious behavior should fall on the responsible parties, not the affected community. We will fight vigorously to hold those responsible accountable, and in the process hope to motivate others to ensure safeguards, policies, and procedures are not only in place, but also followed, to avoid future preventable environmental disasters.”
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At DiCello Levitt, we’re dedicated to achieving justice for our clients through class action, environmental, mass tort, securities, financial services, antitrust, business-to-business, public client, whistleblower, personal injury, and civil and human rights litigation. Our lawyers are highly respected for their ability to litigate and win cases—whether by trial, settlement, or otherwise—for people who have suffered harm, global corporations that have sustained significant economic losses, and public clients seeking to protect their citizens’ rights and interests. Every day, we put our reputations—and our capital—on the line for our clients.
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