Weitz & Luxenberg Brings IBM Lawsuit; Cites Environmental Contamination in Endicott and Union in New York

January 3, 2008 - A consortium of law firms from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and California announced the filing today in Broome County Supreme Court of a toxic tort lawsuit against International Business Machines Corporation.

The lawsuit arises from widespread environmental contamination resulting from the release of hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic and hazardous chemicals, especially Trichloroethylene (TCE), into the air, soil and groundwater of the Village of Endicott, the birthplace of IBM, and the adjoining Town of Union, New York, over a period of several decades.

Some of the toxic and hazardous chemicals in the groundwater are now vaporizing into the homes, businesses and churches of the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit, involving approximately 90 plaintiffs, is the first in a series of wrongful death, personal injury, property damage, business and income loss, medical monitoring, nuisance and trespass lawsuits expected to be filed over the coming months on behalf of a group of nearly 1,000 individuals claiming to be harmed by and seeking compensation for damages resulting from the contamination of hundreds of properties in the Village of Endicott and Town of Union.

Among the serious personal injuries alleged in the first filed action are congenital heart defects in infants and kidney cancers in adults, two of the medical problems a recent New York State Department of Health Study found to occur at a significant excess rate in the Village of Endicott.

The plaintiffs are asserting, among other things, that there is no presently known, reliable technology, which can completely remediate the toxic plume under their properties. Therefore, despite the ongoing remediation efforts which the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has required IBM to undertake, the Village of Endicott and Town of Union communities will suffer from continuing exposure to toxic and hazardous solvent vapors for decades to come.

The consortium of law firms includes Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP, of Binghamton, NY; Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., of New York, NY; Faraci Lange, LLP, of Rochester, NY; Williams Cuker Berezofsky, of Philadelphia, PA; Law Office of Henry Gluckstern, of Maplewood, NJ; Beemer & Beemer, of Clarks Summit, PA; and Masry & Vititoe, of West Lake Village, CA.

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