NEW ORLEANS - Three waste companies have filed a Notice of Removal to have a lawsuit against them moved from the 24th Judicial District Court for the Parish of Jefferson to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Louisiana Regional Landfill Co., Waste Connections of Louisiana Inc., and Waste Connections Bayou filed the Notice of Removal on Aug. 23, according to court documents.
A Parish of Jefferson resident has filed the complaint on behalf of a proposed class of residents, seeking more than $5 million in damages, over an alleged garbage smell caused by waste companies.
Louisiana Regional Landfill Co., Waste Connections Bayou, Waste Connections of Louisiana, Aptim Corp. and the Parish of Jefferson are named as defendants in the July 30 lawsuit, filed by Savannah Thompson on behalf of residents of the Parish.
Thompson is seeking to bring the action on behalf of "a proposed class consisting of ‘[a]ll persons domiciled of and/or within the Parish of Jefferson on or after August 1, 2017."
The lawsuit would seek damages for residents who suffered alleged nuisances, trespassing, loss of enjoyment of their property, and loss of property value, according to court documents.
Thompson claims that the defendants "caused the emission of noxious odors into and unto their persons and properties,’” the court documents stated.
The defendants said they have made the move because the damages that Thompson is seeking exceed $5 million, according to the Notice of Removal.
“Plaintiff seeks to hold Defendants liable ‘for all damages arising from the emission of noxious odors from the Jefferson Parish Landfill’ including the costs for prosecution of the action and interest,” they stated in their filing.
The population is greater than 400,000 people, according to court documents. The "proposed class alleges damages that include past, present and future nuisance damages and past, present and future diminution in property value."
The plaintiff also seeks special damages, applicable penalties (if any), and expert witness and attorneys’ fees. As a result, even a modest alleged damage amount for each proposed class member, plus additional witness and attorneys’ fees, would exceed $5,000,000,” documents stated.