Townhall 5-21-25 Meeting-Recap:
Thank you to everyone who attended the recent Town Hall meeting. For those of you who could not make it, or had trouble attending the Zoom, due to internet issues, (our apologies) below is a recap of what was discussed. The meeting aimed to provide an update on the past, present, and future of the current lawsuit.
We gave an update on the status of the $600 settlement and an upcoming opportunity to settle the case on June 27, 2025.
PAST:
- As you all know, for several decades, the Navy contaminated Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Over the years, this contamination has spread into the surrounding community. After the Navy closed the Shipyard, it was required to clean the contamination before transferring the land to San Francisco.
- The Navy hired Tetra Tech to clean the radiological contamination at the Shipyard. From 2002 to 2015, Tetra Tech worked on the site. In 2018, news outlets reported that instead of properly cleaning the radiological contamination, Tetra Tech employees and supervisors falsified records and lied about having adequately cleaned the contaminated soil.
- In 2018, we filed the first lawsuit against Tetra Tech because they misrepresented the cleanup of the Shipyard, leaving contaminated soil in the ground that continues to pose a risk to the community. The main objective of our lawsuit is to seek damages for the fear of developing cancer due to ongoing exposure to radiological contamination.
- There is some misinformation about the lawsuit; we are not suing to obtain damages for people who lived in Bayview their entire lives and developed cancer or some other disease, as we cannot connect any individual’s illness to Tetra Tech’s conduct. We are suing for increased fear and concern due to the current exposure people face, because Tetra Tech lied and did not clean the Shipyard.
- We also sued real estate developers Lennar Corporation and Five Point. In the original complaint, we did not sue them for money but only to prevent them from digging further near the community. In 2020, Lennar started digging again in the area next to Griffith St. Many community members saw the digging and dust entering the air. We then amended the complaint and sued Lennar and Five Point for their digging in 2020 and 2021.
PRESENT:
- We reached a settlement with Lennar for the 2020 and 2021 digging. This was the $600 settlement everyone agreed to. This settlement was only for the 2020 and 2021 digging because the digging had stopped.
- Unfortunately, the judge did not approve the settlement. When a plaintiff sues two defendants and settles with only one of them, the judge can review the settlement to determine its fairness. In this case, we settled with Lennar and Five Point, but not with Tetra Tech. The judge did not approve the settlement due to concerns that it may not be fair to Tetra Tech. While this was unfortunate, the judge has given us another opportunity to settle the case.
- On June 27, 2025, we will have a meeting at the Federal Courthouse with a Magistrate Judge to discuss settling the case with Tetra Tech, Lennar, and Five Point. This presents our best opportunity to resolve the case and secure some financial relief for everyone. If we settle with all defendants, the judge will not have to approve the settlement in the same way he had to when we only settled with Lennar and Five Point.
FUTURE:
- If we cannot settle the case, it will proceed to trial. There are 6,500 plaintiffs. The court cannot conduct a trial with 6500 plaintiffs. Instead, the court will have 10 individual trials, each involving one plaintiff, to determine the value of each claim. This means that at trial, the jury will not hear about the fear experienced by all 6,500 people, but only one person’s story.
- With any trial, there is a chance the jury may award a small amount or nothing at all. To avoid this risk, we are committed to working hard to settle the case on June 27, 2025. If you agree that we should do everything possible to settle so that everyone can receive some compensation, please let us know.
We thank you for your continued patience and support-
Attorneys Cabral & Charles Bonner
Townhall 5-21-25 Meeting-Recap:
Thank you to everyone who attended the recent Town Hall meeting. For those of you who could not make it, or had trouble attending the Zoom, due to internet issues, (our apologies) below is a recap of what was discussed. The meeting aimed to provide an update on the past, present, and future of the current lawsuit.
We gave an update on the status of the $600 settlement and an upcoming opportunity to settle the case on June 27, 2025.
PAST:
- As you all know, for several decades, the Navy contaminated Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Over the years, this contamination has spread into the surrounding community. After the Navy closed the Shipyard, it was required to clean the contamination before transferring the land to San Francisco.
- The Navy hired Tetra Tech to clean the radiological contamination at the Shipyard. From 2002 to 2015, Tetra Tech worked on the site. In 2018, news outlets reported that instead of properly cleaning the radiological contamination, Tetra Tech employees and supervisors falsified records and lied about having adequately cleaned the contaminated soil.
- In 2018, we filed the first lawsuit against Tetra Tech because they misrepresented the cleanup of the Shipyard, leaving contaminated soil in the ground that continues to pose a risk to the community. The main objective of our lawsuit is to seek damages for the fear of developing cancer due to ongoing exposure to radiological contamination.
- There is some misinformation about the lawsuit; we are not suing to obtain damages for people who lived in Bayview their entire lives and developed cancer or some other disease, as we cannot connect any individual’s illness to Tetra Tech’s conduct. We are suing for increased fear and concern due to the current exposure people face, because Tetra Tech lied and did not clean the Shipyard.
- We also sued real estate developers Lennar Corporation and Five Point. In the original complaint, we did not sue them for money but only to prevent them from digging further near the community. In 2020, Lennar started digging again in the area next to Griffith St. Many community members saw the digging and dust entering the air. We then amended the complaint and sued Lennar and Five Point for their digging in 2020 and 2021.
PRESENT:
- We reached a settlement with Lennar for the 2020 and 2021 digging. This was the $600 settlement everyone agreed to. This settlement was only for the 2020 and 2021 digging because the digging had stopped.
- Unfortunately, the judge did not approve the settlement. When a plaintiff sues two defendants and settles with only one of them, the judge can review the settlement to determine its fairness. In this case, we settled with Lennar and Five Point, but not with Tetra Tech. The judge did not approve the settlement due to concerns that it may not be fair to Tetra Tech. While this was unfortunate, the judge has given us another opportunity to settle the case.
- On June 27, 2025, we will have a meeting at the Federal Courthouse with a Magistrate Judge to discuss settling the case with Tetra Tech, Lennar, and Five Point. This presents our best opportunity to resolve the case and secure some financial relief for everyone. If we settle with all defendants, the judge will not have to approve the settlement in the same way he had to when we only settled with Lennar and Five Point.
FUTURE:
- If we cannot settle the case, it will proceed to trial. There are 6,500 plaintiffs. The court cannot conduct a trial with 6500 plaintiffs. Instead, the court will have 10 individual trials, each involving one plaintiff, to determine the value of each claim. This means that at trial, the jury will not hear about the fear experienced by all 6,500 people, but only one person’s story.
- With any trial, there is a chance the jury may award a small amount or nothing at all. To avoid this risk, we are committed to working hard to settle the case on June 27, 2025. If you agree that we should do everything possible to settle so that everyone can receive some compensation, please let us know.
We thank you for your continued patience and support-
Attorneys Cabral & Charles Bonner
