Bankruptcy stays RES lawsuit

April 04, 2009 11:52 pm

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By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
CARTHAGE, Mo. — A lawsuit filed nearly two years ago against Renewable Environmental Solutions is on hold after the firm’s parent company filed for bankruptcy protection last month.
Jasper County Circuit Judge David Dally has granted a stay, stopping action and lifting court timetables in the lawsuit filed against RES by Cynthia Sundy, of Carthage.
The lawsuit, filed in June 2007, argues RES is negligent because it did not control odor from its plant, and that Sundy and other Carthage residents are entitled to damages as a result.
Alabama attorney Rhon Jones, who is representing Sundy, said he and his client “are assessing our options,” with the stay in place.
“That’s about as much as I want to say publicly, except that we’re glad that Carthage is no longer suffering odor problems,” Jones said. “That’s good, for the community’s sake, and we think there’s some significance in that.”
The bankruptcy may not spell the end for the company, or its parent, Changing World Technologies. A company statement released in conjunction with the filing, said the action would come under Chapter 11 bankruptcy rules, meaning the company plans to reorganize rather than liquidate.
Changing World Technologies is based in West Hempstead, N.Y., and the action was filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
The plant was shut down March 1 and workers were told the next day that they were being laid off. The layoffs involved 49 workers, according to officials with the Missouri Career Center, who met with them later in the week to discuss unemployment benefits, job options and training.
Carthage city officials say they have received no odor complaints since the plant shut down, though one was received by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
An “RES odor” was cited in an e-mail on March 10, according to Mark Rader, of DNR’s regional office in Springfield.
Before closing, there were sometimes dozens of complaints filed with state officials each month, although RES denies it was the source of the odor and said it spent millions to control any emissions.
“We haven’t heard of any odor problems; it has been nice,” Carthage Mayor Jim Woestman, said Thursday.

On their own
Citing odor problems blamed on Renewable Environmental Solutions, Carthage officials lobbied the state for stricter odor rules. After the Missouri Air Conservation Commission last year decided to make no changes, Carthage started its own enforcement program. The city earlier this year purchased its own measuring equipment and the City Council passed a revised ordinance setting stricter standards.