It was some years ago, but Mickey Renwick recalls hearing about homeowners filing a lawsuit over Rocky Flats pollution.
The electrician, who lives near the now-dismantled nuclear weapons trigger plant, didn’t give it much thought – not until he heard about a $554 million jury verdict in February for those who owned property downwind of the plant.
“Who is eligible?” the 65-year-old asked recently. “What area does it affect?”
Renwick is among myriad area residents who have questions about who will share in the verdict and how that will be determined.
“Many hundreds” of people have called a hotline established by the Philadelphia law firm that won the class-action lawsuit, said Merrill Davidoff, lead attorney for the plaintiffs.
“We’ve gotten a flood of calls,” Davidoff said. “We’re kind of overwhelmed.”
The short answer is that the wheels of justice probably will have to grind for a couple of more years before there is a pot of money to distribute. And there’s no guarantee the verdict will survive the appeals process.
The longer answer is contained in post-verdict pleadings in the case file. Those documents set out arguments about how attorneys for the property owners and the contractors – Rockwell International and Dow Chemical – would like to see the case resolved.
Attorneys for the property owners have sent the judge a proposed plan for allocating the verdict.
To be eligible for sharing in the verdict, property owners must have owned property on June 7, 1989 – the day of the Rocky Flats FBI raid – in a designated zone surrounding the former plant.
The plaintiffs have said Senior U.S. District Judge John Kane should enter a final judgment – a formalizing of the verdict – in the case. That is, they say, the fastest way to get all the appellate issues on the table.
Davidoff said it’s important to note that no claims deadlines have been established and won’t be until the appeals process is complete.
Attorneys for the defense contractors, who are indemnified by the federal government, have appealed to the trial judge, asking for a mistrial on several points.
In a motion filed this month, they said that the trial was emotionally charged and politicized, a situation that “poisoned” jury deliberations.
David Bernick, attorney for Dow and Rockwell, said the juror issue will almost certainly be among the questions he eventually presents to a higher court.
But there still are a number of decisions that Kane has to make before any issues can go to a higher court, Bernick said.
“Nothing is going to happen anytime soon,” he said.
Staff writer Alicia Caldwell can be reached at 303-820-1930 or acaldwell@denverpost.com.
Whom to call
Attorneys for property owners have set up a toll-free hotline for those who have questions about the verdict and the process. The number is 877-451-2126.
Merrill Davidoff, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said his staff is “plowing through” a backlog of requests. He invited those who waited more than two weeks for an answer to direct further inquiries to Susan Leo, a legal assistant at Berger & Montague.
She can be reached at 800-424-6690, ext. 3081, or sleo@bm.net. Davidoff asked that callers be sure to leave contact information.
