Ebenhoech v. Koppers Industries, Inc. (2002)
According to Quimbee, Albert Ebenhoech (plaintiff) slipped and fell 15 feet off the side of a train tank car, severely injuring his leg. Ebenhoech was working as chief chemical operator at Solutia, Inc., at the time of the accident. Ebenhoech sued Koppers Industries, Inc. (Koppers) (defendant) for spilling a chemical on the car and not cleaning it off before shipping it to Solutia. After the accident, Solutia created an incident report stating the chronology of the incident and claiming the primary cause was Ebenhoech working without full protection. Koppers attempted to admit the report into evidence as part of its defense. Ebenhoech objected, arguing that the report was inadmissible hearsay.
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Weyerhaeuser v. Koppers Inc. (1991)
According to the Environmental Law Reporter (ELR), Weyerhaeuser Company was held as an owner of the contaminated property, Koppers as an operator. Accordingly, an environmental investigation was done and the presence of hazardous substances in the property was discovered. Koppers again refused to accept responsibility for the problem and stuck firm to its position that any environmental problems were Weyerhaeuser’s responsibility. This case was tried then before the Court on the issue of the proper allocation of this liability.
Malone v. Koppers, Inc. and Hinistroza and Hinistroza (wife) v. Koppers, Inc. (2020)
Plaintiffs seek recovery from defendants based on allegations that they contracted diseases such as bladder cancer and leukemia as a result of their exposure to coal tar pitch volatiles within products which Koppers manufactured and supplied to plaintiffs’ employer (Alcoa).
Genevieve Anthony v. Koppers Co., Inc. (1981)
Appellees are each administrators of the estates of their deceased husbands, who had been employed by Bethlehem[2] as coke oven workers. Appellees commenced these actions on December 13, 1977. Their amended complaint alleges that emissions from the coke ovens, which had been “manufactured, sold, constructed and installed” by Koppers, Allied, and Salem Corporation (Salem), had caused the decedents to contract lung cancer, which resulted in their deaths. The causes of action were grounded in negligence, strict liability in tort and breach of warranty and were based upon alleged defects in the coke ovens. It was revealed during discovery that all decedents had died more than two years before the actions were brought. In fact, the instant litigation was instituted more than five years after the most recent death.
Environment and Race: How are journalists covering environmental racism? 