A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge will decide in the coming weeks whether the long-running \u201cOld Smokey\u201d lawsuit against the City of Miami can move forward as a class action \u2014 a step that could open the case to tens of thousands of potential plaintiffs.<\/p>\n
The decision marks the most significant development in a case that has hovered over Coconut Grove\u2019s historically Black West Grove neighborhood for more than eight years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about time the city did something right for these plaintiffs,\u201d said Jason Clark, an attorney working on the case with The Downs Law Group.<\/p>\n
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The proposed class area for the \u201cOld Smokey\u201d lawsuit, if certified, would extend across the West Grove and east of U.S. 1 into Coral Gables.<\/p>\n
(The Downs Law Group, Paul Rosenfeld)<\/p>\n
The class-certification hearing is scheduled to run over five days between March 11 and March 20. Three plaintiffs are expected to testify, along with seven expert witnesses for the plaintiffs. The city\u2019s attorneys will present their defense during the final two days.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit, filed in September 2017, alleges that residents were exposed for decades to toxic substances \u2014 including dioxins, arsenic, lead and barium \u2014 left behind after the city\u2019s garbage incinerator, known as Old Smokey, shut down in 1970.<\/p>\n
The contaminants were discovered during a routine environmental assessment in 2011 at the former incinerator site, now home to the city\u2019s Fire Rescue Training Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In response, the city closed and remediated several parks where ash from the incinerator had been deposited and buried. But according to the lawsuit, cleanup efforts did not extend to nearby West Grove neighborhoods.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Plaintiffs also contend the city failed to notify residents that the soil where they lived contained toxic contamination \u2014 exposure they say has contributed to serious health problems, including cancer.<\/p>\n
Attorneys pursuing the case have long pointed to research suggesting a possible link between pollution and illness in the neighborhood. In 2013, University of Miami researchers identified a cluster of pancreatic cancer cases in the West Grove they believed might be associated with environmental contamination.<\/p>\n
More recently, a 2024 study commissioned by plaintiffs\u2019 attorneys found that about 80% of private residential properties tested within a mile of the incinerator site contained dioxin levels exceeding county limits.<\/p>\n
If the court grants class-action status, anyone living within the proposed class area \u2014 roughly a one-mile radius around the former incinerator site \u2014 could join the lawsuit. The area includes about 2,200 properties and could encompass tens of thousands of residents, Clark said.<\/p>\n
Those who attended Carver elementary or middle school, the Barnyard recreation area or St. Alban\u2019s Child Enrichment Center, or who spent time at contaminated parks, may also qualify to join the class.<\/p>\n
In advance of the hearing, The Downs Law Group has encouraged residents to undergo medical screenings to document health conditions and to help estimate how many people may have been affected.<\/p>\n
About 800 plaintiffs have formally retained attorneys in the case so far, Clark said.<\/p>\n
He and other attorneys hope many residents attend the hearings.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen communities show up, judges notice,\u201d Anthony Alfieri, director of the University of Miami School of Law\u2019s Center for Ethics and Public Service, told residents on Saturday at a community meeting. \u201cThey understand that this is important and meaningful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The case is being heard by Judge Spencer Eig of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.<\/p>\n
Clark said a class-action ruling could also encourage the city \u2014 now under a new mayor \u2014 to take settlement discussions more seriously.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is always to settle,\u201d Clark said. \u201cAs long as the settlement is enough to right the wrongs done to these people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Previous settlement attempts have failed, but Clark said he believes the plaintiffs enter the hearing with momentum.<\/p>\n
Over the past several months, the city filed four motions for partial summary judgment seeking to dismiss portions of the lawsuit, along with a motion to strike the plaintiffs\u2019 lead expert. The court denied those motions.<\/p>\n
Plaintiffs also attempted to strike several defense experts, but those requests were rejected.<\/p>\n
If the judge declines to certify the case as a class action, the claims could still proceed individually, with lawsuits filed one by one.<\/p>\n
City of Miami officials did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n