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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 7/8/2016 12:52:16 PM 16CV21495 1 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON 7 8 FOR THE COUNTY OF MULTNOMAH 9 KELLEY FOSTER, JUAN PRAT- SANCHEZ, KIRK GAYTON, and DEBRA 10 TAEVS; individually and on behalf of all CIVIL ACTION NO. ________________ others similarly situated, 11 CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT Plaintiffs, (Equitable Relief Only) 12 13 v. CLAIM NOT SUBJECT TO MANDATORY ARBITRATION 14 PRECISION CASTPARTS CORP., an ORS 21.135(2)(a) Oregon corporation; and PCC 15 STRUCTURALS, INC., an Oregon corporation, 16 Defendants. 17 18 INTRODUCTION 19 1. 20 Plaintiffs, Kelley Foster, Juan Prat-Sanchez, Kirk Gayton, and Debra Taevs (collectively, 21 “Plaintiffs”), individually and on behalf of a class of all other similarly situated people, allege the 22 following against Precision Castparts Corp. and PCC Structurals, Inc. (hereafter “Defendants” or 23 collectively, “PCC”), based, where applicable, on personal knowledge, information and belief, and the 24 investigation and research of counsel. Pursuant to Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure (“ORCP”) 32J, 25 Plaintiffs presently seek only equitable relief. Plaintiffs have provided notice and demand to Defendants 26 - pursuant to ORCP 32H - and should PCC not meet that demand, Plaintiffs intend to amend their 27 complaint to seek damages after the expiration of the period set forth in the rules. 28 30 31 Class Action Complaint KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. 1 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200 Seattle, WA 98101 32 1 NATURE OF THE ACTION 2 2. 3 South Portland is home to thousands of families, vibrant businesses, and thriving schools. The 4 people who live and work in this neighborhood represent a broad range of ethnic, socio-economic, and 5 age groups. 6 3. 7 South Portland is also home to PCC, where it operates several facilities on Johnson Creek 8 Boulevard, including its Large Structurals Steel Operations and its Large Structurals Titanium 9 Operations (collectively, “South Portland Operations”). 10 4. 11 PCC has been identified as one of the nation’s worst polluters. Its South Portland Operations 12 release significant amounts of pollution, including arsenic and nickel, into the surrounding 13 neighborhood. PCC’s emissions have created a hotspot of pollution in South Portland. 14 5. 15 The toxic pollutants PCC has released from its South Portland Operations have and continue to 16 contaminate people’s homes, yards, and businesses, damaging property and diminishing its value, and 17 posing significant health risks. 18 6. 19 Plaintiffs, each of whom live and own real property in South Portland near the South Portland 20 Operations, bring this action pursuant to ORCP 32, individually and on behalf of those similarly 21 situated, in order to protect and seek redress for themselves, their families, and their community. 22 JURISDICTION AND VENUE 23 7. 24 This Court has jurisdiction over the Parties in this case and Multnomah County is the proper 25 venue for the claims at issue. All of the claims giving rise to this action accrued in Multnomah County 26 and Clackamas County, Oregon. Defendants engage in regular, sustained business in Multnomah 27 County and maintain their principal places of business in Multnomah County. Many of the Class 28 30 31 Class Action Complaint KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. 2 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200 Seattle, WA 98101 32 1 Members, including the Plaintiffs affected by Defendants’ conduct, also reside in Multnomah County. 2 Defendants’ corporate headquarters are also located in Multnomah County. 3 8. 4 The claims in this case are based solely on State law. Plaintiffs make no federal claims in this 5 case. In addition, all named plaintiffs are Oregon citizens. Plaintiffs’ and Class Members’ injuries 6 occurred in Oregon. 7 THE PARTIES 8 9. 9 Plaintiffs Kelley Foster, Juan Prat-Sanchez, Kirk Gayton, and Debra Taevs are residents and 10 citizens of Multnomah County, Oregon. 11 10. 12 Defendant Precision Castparts Corp. is an Oregon corporation with its principal place of business 13 at 4650 SW Macadam Avenue, Suite 300, Portland, Oregon 97239. Defendant PCC Structurals, Inc. is 14 an Oregon corporation with its principal place of business at 4600 SE Harney Dr., Portland, Oregon 15 97206. 16 FACTS 17 A. South Portland’s Air 18 11. 19 In 2013, researchers at the United States Forest Service began collecting moss from trees in the 20 greater Portland metropolitan area in an effort to track air quality across Portland. Moss has been used as 21 a “bioindicator” of air quality for decades. Lacking roots, moss absorbs nutrients and water from the air 22 around it, including any pollutants that are present. The moss incorporates these contaminants into itself 23 as it grows, making a record of pollution in the surrounding air over time. 24 12. 25 The researchers gathered 346 moss samples, and then tested them for 22 elements. The 26 researchers then plotted the test results on maps of Portland. The study’s objectives were to develop 27 28 30 31 Class Action Complaint KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. 3 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200 Seattle, WA 98101 32 1 city-wide maps showing concentrations of each element present in the moss and identify air pollution 2 hotspots. 3 13. 4 The study met its objectives. The maps the research produced demonstrate that there is a 5 significant air pollution hotspot surrounding PCC’s South Portland Operations, where nickel, arsenic, 6 and other hazardous air pollutants appear in high concentrations. 7 14. 8 In February 2016, the Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality 9 publically released the maps of the moss data. The revelations about South Portland’s pollution from 10 PCC has repeatedly been front page news in Portland and around the nation since that time. 11 15. 12 This map, excerpted below and attached as Exhibit 1 to this complaint (and by reference 13 incorporated into this suit), was prepared by The Oregonian and modified by Plaintiffs to identify PCC’s 14 location. The map shows elevated levels of arsenic in moss adjacent to PCC’s South Portland 15 Operations, with red indicating .84 to .94 micrograms per kilogram of moss, orange indicating .72 to .83 16 micrograms per kilogram, yellow indicating .60 to .71 micrograms per kilogram, and green indicating 17 .37 to .59 micrograms per kilogram. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 30 31 Class Action Complaint KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. 4 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200 Seattle, WA 98101 32 1 16. 2 This map, excerpted below and attached as Exhibit 2 to this complaint (and by reference 3 incorporated into this suit), was prepared by The Oregonian and modified by Plaintiffs to identify PCC’s 4 location. The map shows elevated levels of nickel in moss adjacent to PCC’s South Portland Operations, 5 with red indicating 34.8 to 43.2 micrograms per kilogram of moss, orange indicating 26.3 to 34.7 6 micrograms per kilogram, yellow indicating 17.8 to 26.2 micrograms per kilogram, and green indicating 7 9.3 to 17.70 micrograms per kilogram. Together, the red, yellow, orange, and green areas depicted on 8 both maps are defined as the “Affected Area.” 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 B. PCC’s Toxic Air Emissions 24 17. 25 PCC has admitted publically that its South Portland Operations emit thousands of pounds of air 26 pollutants each year. PCC’s own records demonstrate that it emits nickel, arsenic, chromium, and other 27 toxic materials and heavy metals into the air from its South Portland Operations. 28 30 31 Class Action Complaint KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P. 5 1201 Third Avenue, Suite 3200 Seattle, WA 98101 32 1 18. 2 Plaintiffs expect the evidence will show that PCC’s South Portland Operations are the primary, if 3 not exclusive, source of the pollution hotspots identified in the US Forest Service study in these maps. 4 Other than the significant hotspot surrounding the PCC South Portland Operations, there were no other 5 nickel hotspots that appeared in the Forest Service’s moss study. There are also no other known users of 6 nickel in the vicinity of the nickel hotspot surrounding PCC’s South Portland Operations. 7 19. 8 PCC has publically admitted that its South Portland Operations produce nickel-based 9 superalloys, titanium, stainless steel, and aluminum investment castings. Representatives of PCC have 10 also admitted that PCC emits various metals into the air, including nickel and arsenic, from its South 11 Portland Operations. 12 20. 13 In each of the past four years, PCC has released over two million pounds of nickel from its South 14 Portland Operations into the surrounding community. The particles of nickel, chromium, arsenic, and 15 other toxic pollutants that PCC emits from its South Portland Operations travel through the air and enter 16 into homes and properties of Plaintiffs and Class Members, where they damage the property, interfere 17 with Plaintiffs’ use and enjoyment of their property, homes, and neighborhood, and present serious risks 18 to the health and well-being of the Plaintiffs and the Class Members. 19 21. 20 Defendants create significant amounts of air pollution at their South Portland Operations. 21 Defendants monitor some of their emissions of air pollutants from their South Portland Operations and 22 must report those data to state and federal regulators. Defendants’ representatives have publically 23 admitted that PCC does not capture all of the air pollutants it generates at its South Portland Operations. 24 Those uncaptured pollutants are released into the surrounding neighborhood. Defendants’ 25 representatives have also publically admitted that although PCC has technology to capture some 26 pollutants produced by or generated from the facility, other sources of PCC’s air pollutants are entirely 27 28 30 31 Class Action Complaint KELLER ROHRBACK L.L.P.
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