| Dow: Home sale
aids case |
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| Kathie Marchlewski , The Midland Daily News | 12/16/2003 |
| Homes along the
dioxin-contaminated Tittabawassee River are selling, and at least one went for more than
the asking price. The sale is significant for The Dow Chemical Co., its attorneys say. They say it proves that litigants’ claims in the flood plain dioxin lawsuit are baseless. "(Homes on the flood plain) are not worthless," Kathleen Lang told Saginaw Circuit Court Judge Leopold Borrello at a hearing Tuesday. Riverside residents filed a class-action complaint in March seeking the value of their properties. They say the land’s value has been diminished to nothing by dioxin contamination traced back to historic Dow manufacturing processes. Two vocal litigants, Wendy and Dennis Domino, complained that several potential buyers broke deals to purchase their Stroebel Road home after notice of the dioxin contamination was disclosed. But the home has now sold. Before the suit was filed, Wendy Domino had asked Dow to purchase the home. Dow refused, but performed two appraisals. The recent sale yielded more than those appraisals. The Dominos no longer will seek property damages, but will pursue funding to monitor their health for potential risk posed by exposure to dioxin, said Bruce Trogan, local counsel for the plaintiffs. Michael Saunders, another attorney representing property owners, said the Domino sale is "not an indicator of market value." He added the person who bought the house apparently is not concerned about dioxin exposure – he lived on flood plain property before moving to Stroebel Road. But to Dow, the transaction is an indicator of value. It sparked a question of whether the complaint can continue to stand in courts. "We don’t believe plaintiffs should be able to include allegations they know are untrue," Lang said. Borrello did not comment on the sale or if it would affect the suit. A hearing on class certification for the complaint will be conducted on Feb. 24. One hundred seventy-three people are party to the suit and 135 wish to join. If the case is granted class-action status, it could grow to include more than 2,000 property owners and an unknown number of people who resided on the flood plain since Jan. 1, 1984. |
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| İMidland Daily News 2003 | |
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawasse River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.