A class action public nuisance lawsuit has been filed against the company that operates the former Shell oil refinery in Martinez, demanding the new owners be made to pay for alleged pollution that the lawsuit says has "spewed" toxins into nearby communities, allegedly endangering public health.
The plaintiffs are "members of families who for decades have lived in the shadow of Defendants’ Martinez oil refinery, a facility with an extensive history
of environmental violations," states the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. "Repeatedly, Plaintiffs have been exposed to toxic substances spewing out of the Refinery, while no one has stepped in and stopped Defendants from sending toxins into their community."
The lawsuit calls the defendant's risk management practices "futile" which result in poisoning the nearby community.
"It is also time to hold Defendants to account for their cavalier failure to timely report these incidents to the
public and regulators," the lawsuit states.
It seeks a court order to cease operations of the refinery "until a verified plan is in place to ensure it no longer contaminates the surrounding community."
It also seeks compensation for past damages to date, medical monitoring, environmental monitoring, and "a declaration that Defendants’ mismanagement
of their facility has created and continues to pose a public and private nuisance."
The plaintiffs are represented by Joseph W. Cotchett, Anne Marie Murphy, Blair V. Little and Vasti S. Montiel, of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, of.
Cruz v. PBFE Energy, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, 3:23-cv-06142