Steve Williams represented two City of Geneva residents who bought a property from the City. The evidence established that the City of Geneva knew or should have known that the property it sold to our clients, Mr. and Mrs. Powers, was contaminated with lead. The lead, along with other harmful metals, settled on the property after drifting from the smoke stacks of the old Geneva Foundry, which had operated in the neighborhood for decades. Notwithstanding the contamination on the property, the city represented that the property was “fit for redevelopment” when it sold it to the Powers. Mr. Powers relied on that representation and therefore performed various excavation and construction projects on the contaminated property. This caused him to suffer lead poisoning, which has resulted in lifelong health problems. The jurors concluded that the city was negligent in making such an inaccurate and untrue statement about the property when selling it to Mr. and Mrs. Powers, and they therefore elected to hold the city accountable for Mr. Powers’ resulting lifelong health problems.
The Finger Lakes Times recently reported on the verdict. The article can be found here. Alternatively, a PDF is available at this link: $42M Verdict–Geneva couple wins $42 million verdict against city over foundry.
