Morgan & Morgan Fort Lauderdale partner Frank Petosa has filed the first lawsuit over damages caused by dozens of gas explosions that rocked three Massachusetts communities.

The law firm filed the class action Tuesday in Essex County Superior Court in Massachusetts on behalf of residents of the Merrimack Valley region, including the 8,600 forced to evacuate after gas line operator Columbia Gas of Massachusetts cut their service. The explosions Sept. 13 in the towns of Andover, North Andover and Lawrence killed a teenager and injured more than 20 others.