Court dismisses case against Kalamazoo plant, goverment
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A federal judge has once again dismissed a lawsuit against a Kalamazoo business, government agencies and officials.
The motion for reconsideration was denied by Judge Hala Jarbou in the U.S. District Court Western District of Michigan Southern Division on Friday.
The lawsuit was filed on June 7, 2023, by residents of Kalamazoo’s Northside neighborhood. The residents claim that air pollution from Graphic Packaging International facility, a cardboard packaging plant in the area, is causing generational health problems and that their complaints are being ignored because they are Black.
Kalamazoo residents concerned about industrial odors
In September the court ruled that the “the complaint contains factual allegations and claims that are wholly baseless, going so far as to allege that GPI employee Paul McCann is the brother of State Senator Sean McCann, when the two are not related at all (and have never even met).”
Residents near Kalamazoo plant claim pollution, discrimination in lawsuit
The GPI is on North Pitcher Street north of East Paterson Street. Residents have complained about the odor coming from the plant for years. The state has been monitoring GPI for more than a decade and the plant has been served with several odor violation notices. In February 2023, GPI was fined more than $100,000 and given a compliance plan to reduce the odor problems. Last summer, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services agreed the odors have caused health problems like headaches, nausea and eye irritation.
GPI applauded the court’s decision in a statement released on Monday:
“On March 15, 2024, a federal judge dismissed Dancer v. United States of America, an environmental lawsuit that was filed in June 2023 against Graphic Packaging and 21 other defendants, including the City of Kalamazoo, the State of Michigan, the United States of America and several federal, state and local officials. We appreciate the Court’s careful consideration of this case and recognition that the complaint lacked legal merit.
“Graphic Packaging and the other defendants had asked the Court to dismiss the case because it contained insufficient, improper and false allegations. The Court agreed. Earlier, the Court had granted Graphic Packaging’s request to strike from the case the completely baseless allegations against the company of environmental racism and corrupt coordination with a state elected official. In its order dismissing the case, the Court ordered the plaintiffs’ lawyer to show cause why he should not be sanctioned for filing a complaint with such unfounded and derogatory allegations.
“We take our community’s health and safety very seriously, and we take pride in our responsibility as a good neighbor, community partner and employer to 750 people at our Kalamazoo manufacturing facility. While we are pleased with the Court’s ruling and remain proud of our work and our record in Kalamazoo, we will continue to seek solutions to help improve the environment. We have invested millions of dollars in ongoing facility improvements and air monitoring equipment. Since 2021, these investments have driven an 81% reduction in our hydrogen sulfide emissions levels, which were already under state limits. We will continue to work alongside city leaders and state and federal regulators to achieve further progress. However, we will also defend ourselves vigorously against false and frivolous claims.
“For more information about our ongoing efforts, please visit KalamazooRecycles.com.”
A statement from Graphic Packaging International
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