Skip navigation
CASES

Bullseye Glass Co.

Meeker, et al. v. Bullseye Glass Co.Case No. 16CV07002
Multnomah County Circuit Court, State of Oregon

Background Information

In February 2016, Oregon state regulators first disclosed that the air in part of Southeast Portland has tested for extremely high levels of arsenic and cadmium, which are used to manufacture colored glass. According to the Oregon Health Authority, persistent exposure to high concentrations of arsenic can cause skin, lung, or bladder cancer, and the health effects for cadmium exposure include lung cancer and kidney damage. Additional information is available from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Health Authority, and Cleaner Air Oregon.

Attorneys in Keller Rohrback’s Complex Litigation Group have a history of successfully representing individuals and class members in a wide range of important environmental litigation. Whether working for victims of oil spills, communities exposed to toxic materials, or people who purchased contaminated or defective products, Keller Rohrback’s team of experienced environmental litigators have helped to protect people and the environment across the country. For example, Keller Rohrback represented fishermen, landowners, and businesses located in Prince William Sound in their action against Exxon to recover damages caused by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. A federal jury awarded a $5 billion judgment in favor of Keller Rohrback clients.

Settlement Status

On May 10, 2019, the Court granted final approval of the class action settlement. The settlement guaranteed Bullseye will use and maintain approved filters on all of its glass-making furnaces, and it created a $6.5 million settlement fund. After Court-approved costs and fees, the remainder of the fund was used to pay for a $1 million neighborhood air monitoring program, reimbursement to Class Members of air emissions-related expenses, and payments to eligible Class Members. The claims deadline has now passed and payments were sent to Class Members who filed valid claims.

 

Case Overview

On March 3, 2016, Keller Rohrback L.L.P. and the Law Office of Karl G. Anuta, P.C. filed a class action lawsuit against Bullseye Glass Co. due to the alleged emissions of arsenic, cadmium, and other potentially toxic metals from that glass making facility.

The lawsuit alleges that “[o]ver the past several decades, Bullseye has emitted sufficient amounts of toxic heavy metals to make Southeast Portland a “hotspot” of these pollutants” and that “Bullseye knew or should have known that it . . . has been emitting significant amounts of toxic materials.”

On February 2, 2018, Judge Stephen Bushong granted Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification, certifying two subclasses of owners and residents of residential property, and appointing the Plaintiffs to represent those subclasses.

The subclasses are defined as:

All residents of the residential properties within the Bullseye Plume depicted in Figure 1 of the report of Dr. Andrew Gray as of February 3, 2016, which properties are preliminarily listed in Appendix A hereto.

All owners of the residential real properties within the Bullseye Plume depicted in Figure 1 of the report of Dr. Andrew Gray as of February 3, 2016, which properties are preliminarily listed in Appendix A hereto.

The class area, defined in reference to expert modeling of Bullseye’s historic particulate emissions, is depicted here:

On December 13, 2017, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion to amend their complaint to add claims for punitive damages, which Plaintiffs did on February 13, 2018.

Practice Areas

Attorneys

Daniel Mensher

Partner

Matthew Preusch

Partner