{"id":186584,"date":"2026-03-11T01:34:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T01:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/186584\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T01:34:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T01:34:13","slug":"old-smokey-case-returns-to-court-as-attorneys-seek-class-action-status-nbc-6-south-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/186584\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Old Smokey\u2019 case returns to court as attorneys seek class-action status \u2013 NBC 6 South Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

A lawsuit over a trash incinerator known as “Old Smokey”<\/a> is headed back to court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, a five-day evidentiary hearing in the case will begin in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The waste incinerator was built by the City of Miami in 1926 in what was a historically Black neighborhood in Coconut Grove.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The facility was in operation for nearly 50 years, and people who lived in that neighborhood say they saw and felt the pollution firsthand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We certainly experienced a kind of an ash type of a substance,” former Coconut Grove resident Carolyn Donaldson told NBC6.<\/p>\n

The incinerator was shut down in 1970 when a nuisance lawsuit was filed by the city of Coral Gables, a predominantly white community. It was turned into a city of Miami Fire Rescue Facility years later.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2017, a lawsuit was filed against the city of Miami alleging residents who lived in the area developed higher rates of cancer, respiratory issues, and other issues related to exposure to the harmful ash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, close to a decade later, the case is headed back before a judge.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tResidents of Coconut Grove and Coral Gables rallied to demand the city of Miami take action over an old incinerator they claim has made families sick. NBC6’s Chris Hush reports\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

“That ash ultimately settled on residential properties,\u201d said attorney Jason Clark.<\/p>\n

Clark represents the plaintiffs in the case and says the upcoming evidentiary hearing is a major step because it has the potential to certify the case as a class-action lawsuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This will be the first time that the community will finally be recognized that everybody that’s been in the community across decades, you know, has these same types of harms,” Clark said.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit is asking the city of Miami to provide residents with medical monitoring to screen for latent cancers and other illnesses and compensation for property damage caused by contamination.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the case is certified as a class-action lawsuit, it allows for a notice period to begin. A notice period allows other people who believe they have been impacted to join the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The city of Miami didn’t respond to NBC6’s request for comment and has previously declined to comment, citing the pending litigation. In court filings, attorneys for the city have tried to dismiss the case, arguing, in part, the plaintiffs didn\u2019t lay out enough to support the lawsuit, the statute of limitations passed,\u00a0 and \u201cthe injuries and damages alleged\u2026were caused, in whole or in part, by third persons or entities beyond the control of the City and for whose negligence the City is not responsible for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hearing is expected to begin on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. followed by live testimony and presentation of evidence. It\u2019s expected to conclude on March 20.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A lawsuit over a trash incinerator known as “Old Smokey” is headed back to court.\u00a0 On Wednesday, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":186585,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-186584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=186584"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/186584\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/186585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=186584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=186584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=186584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}