INFO CENTER
« Cases and Current InvestigationsBhopal, India - Union Carbide Disaster
Sahu, et.al. v. Union Carbide Corporation, et.al.Index No. 04 CV 08825, Southern District of New York March 2009
Hausfeld LLP lawyers represent residents of Bhopal, India who were exposed to toxic wastes, which have contaminated the soil and drinking water surrounding the infamous Union Carbide Plant, which was the site of the1984 gas leak that killed and injured thousands of nearby residents. Since the gas leak disaster in 1984, Union Carbide has abandoned the plant, causing the remaining chemicals to enter the surrounding groundwater and resulting in high rates of cancer and neurological disorders in neighborhoods surrounding the plant.
In 1999, an initial lawsuit was filed in the Southern District of New York seeking to compel Union Carbide to clean up the plant site and to provide medical monitoring to the surrounding communities and pay damages to those who have been injured by the extensive pollution. Although this lawsuit was ultimately dismissed because the Court found that the named plaintiffs lacked standing (due to a lack of beneficial interest in the surrounding land), another case, filed in 2004, is now pending.
In the 2004 action, the District Court granted summary judgement in favor of Union Carbide in 2006, but in 2008 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision. The case has now returned to the District Court for further proceedings and the plaintiffs will be seeking discovery in accordance with the Second Circuit's opinion.
For more information, please contact the Hausfeld LLP attorneys working on the matter, Richard S. Lewis or Reena Armillay Gambhir.
Practice Areas: Environmental Threats
