8-YEAR-OLD ROCKETDYNE CASE SETTLED DEAL WORKED OUT SAME DAY JURY SELECTION WAS TO START.Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer After an eight-year legal battle, the Boeing Co. reached a settlement Wednesday with more than 100 neighbors of its Santa Susana Santa Susana can refer to several places:
Attorneys for Boeing and the plaintiffs were scheduled to begin jury selection Wednesday on the long-awaited trial, but instead spent the day in mediation hammering out a deal to end the personal-injury lawsuits. Terms of the settlement were not released. ``Plaintiffs and defendants are both satisfied with the settlement and settled these claims to avoid the high costs and delays of litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. ,'' the parties said in an agreed-upon statement read by Boeing spokesman Dan Beck. The company denies that its operations caused any harm to the plaintiffs. The lawsuit, initially filed in March 1997, alleged that hazardous and radioactive substances released from Boeing's Rocketdyne plant, which has operated since the 1940s, caused cancers, thyroid and autoimmune disorders Autoimmune Disorders Definition Autoimmune disorders are conditions in which a person's immune system attacks the body's own cells, causing tissue destruction. and tumors in residents who lived near four rocket facilities on the western edge of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . Experts hired by the plaintiffs said in court documents that they were able to find links between exposure to toxics from the Rocketdyne sites and illnesses among individuals in the community. Many of the residents lived near the Santa Susana Field Lab, where Boeing tested rocket engines and developed nuclear power systems for the space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. . In 1959, a nuclear reactor at the lab experienced a partial meltdown, and neighbors have sought answers on how much contamination was released during that incident and in later nuclear and chemical operations Noun 1. chemical operations - warfare using chemical agents to kill or injure or incapacitate the enemy chemical warfare war, warfare - the waging of armed conflict against an enemy; "thousands of people were killed in the war" . Elizabeth Crawford with Physicians with Social Responsibility, who was not part of the lawsuit, said she had wanted to see the results of the plaintiff's decade-long investigation aired in a public courtroom. ``If this case is settled, then I would be disappointed because the full extent of the case will never see the light of day.'' The case, originally filed in 1997, almost didn't make it to court. One judge threw out most of the claims in 2000, saying the statute of limitations A type of federal or state law that restricts the time within which legal proceedings may be brought. Statutes of limitations, which date back to early Roman Law, are a fundamental part of European and U.S. law. had passed. The court said Daily News reports in 1989, which revealed massive contamination at the lab, and subsequent media reports should have led plaintiffs to file their suits earlier. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that ruling in 2002 and allowed the case to proceed. The plaintiffs were represented by Cappello & Noel of Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. and Gancedo & Nieves of Pasadena. The terms of the settlement are supposed to be kept secret, although the statement said Boeing doesn't expect the settlement to have a ``material impact or require any extraordinary action by the company.'' Boeing, a publicly traded company publicly traded company A company whose shares of common stock are held by the public and are available for purchase by investors. The shares of publicly traded firms are bought and sold on the organized exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. , does not have to report the settlement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company sold its Rocketdyne unit to Pratt & Whitney in August, but retained the field lab and all environmental responsibilities from its other sites. Kerry Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3746 kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com |
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