New York City will have to face a trial or settle a lawsuit by people who claim they became sick from being exposed to hazardous substances as a result of living near the former Pelham Bay landfill in the Bronx, a unanimous state appellate panel ruled Thursday. In Nonnon v. City of New York, 8576/91, a five-member panel of the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed an order by Bronx County Supreme Court Justice Larry S. Schachner (See Profile) denying the city’s motion to dismiss the case. The opinion was written by Justice Sallie Manzanet-Daniels (See Profile), with Justices Angela M. Mazzarelli (See Profile), John W. Sweeny Jr. (See Profile), Dianne T. Renwick (See Profile) and Rosalyn H. Richter (See Profile) concurring.
The plaintiffs in the case, which consolidates nine lawsuits going back to the early 1990s, allege that they or their deceased relatives developed acute lymphoid leukemia from living near the landfill, which the city closed in 1978.
