Lawsuits over SPS Technologies fire merge into one class-action case
Combining the class action lawsuits would reduce the costs of litigation, prevent duplicative efforts, and prevent inconsistent verdicts, the attorneys said in a court filing.
Four law firms want to merge their class-action lawsuits against SPS Technologies over last month’s four-alarm factory fire in Montgomery County that led to school closures, halted SEPTA trains, triggered evacuations, and prompted Abington officials to declare a disaster emergency.
The lawsuits were brought on behalf of a school bus driver for Abington School District, co-owners of an auto service business that is less than a mile from the SPS facility, and a resident in neighboring Jenkintown whose apartment was engulfed in smoke and has experienced coughing and chest pain.
The firms asked a Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas judge to consolidate the three lawsuits against the aerospace parts manufacturer because they “arise from the same transaction or occurrence, involve common questions of law and fact, and concern substantially the same set of parties, witnesses, and documents,” according to a court filing.
Merging the lawsuits would reduce the costs of litigation, prevent duplicative efforts, and prevent inconsistent verdicts, the court filing said.
The complaints accuse SPS of “failures to inspect, properly maintain, and/or operate its facility” and say the company failed to “uphold industry standards,” causing damage to “hundreds if not thousands of persons.”
SPS did not respond to a request for comment.
» READ MORE: Inside volunteer firefighters’ grueling effort to battle the SPS Technologies factory blaze
Attorneys from Philadelphia-based firms Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky and Levin Sedran & Berman would litigate the case with lawyers from Tennessee-based Stranch and Jennings & Garvey and New York-based Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman.
The firms’ attorneys designated to lead the case did not respond to requests for comment.
“I think there are legitimate concerns that people’s health and safety may have been impacted,” Patrick Howard, the Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky attorney on the case, told The Inquirer last month.
At least one other class action that is not part of the consolidated cases is pending in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas. It’s not clear whether that class action will also be consolidated.
A webpage is dedicated to the class-action lawsuit on the website Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, which represented victims of high-profile cases, including the 2013 Salvation Army Building collapse and the 2023 Port Richmond explosion on New Year’s Day. The webpage provides information to people who are potentially impacted and looking to be part of the litigation.
”If the Court formally decides the case can proceed as a class action, you will get a notice advising you of your rights,” the webpage says.
SPS is owned by the Precision Castparts unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Corp. After a series of explosions in the Abington facility, a fire, which drew responders from nearly 80 fire companies, burned for five days before it was extinguished.
Because of concerns that flames touched harsh chemicals the factory used to produce specialized metal bolts and fasteners for clients such as Boeing, NASA, and the military, Abington Township officials issued a shelter-in-place order and a voluntary evacuation order in the first day.