By Wally Kennedy
wkennedy@joplinglobe.com
PICHER, Okla. — Two Oklahoma City lawyers, who successfully represented victims of a May 1999 tornado near Oklahoma City in a class-action suit involving claims against an insurance company, are exploring the possibility of representing residents of the Picher-Cardin area in a similar action.
Jeff Marr and John Wiggans, the attorneys, and Gary Miles, a public adjuster with Casualty Consultants, Ponca City, met with about 100 people for three hours Wednesday night in the community room at the Picher Housing Authority.
The room, they said, was rented for the purpose of meeting with potential clients.
The lawyers said they were interested in talking to those who have concerns about the property-insurance settlements they received in connection with damage resulting from the May 10, 2008, tornado that struck Picher.
They said they also were there to talk to those who believe they have not been treated fairly in the government buyout being managed by the Lead-Impacted Communities Relocation Assistance Trust and the trust’s appraisal company, Cinnabar Services of Tulsa.
After hearing comments from those attending the meeting, Marr told them: “Gather all your information for us. It’s something we do want to pursue. They know what they have done.”
Many in attendance at the meeting were Picher and Cardin residents who accepted offers from the trust under protest in 2007 and 2008. They said the appraisal company undervalued their properties, and that their appeals to the trust and to Gov. Brad Henry for help went unanswered. They said they accepted the “take it or leave it” offers because it might be their only chance to get something for their properties, which are in the heart of the Tar Creek Superfund Site in the former lead- and zinc-mining belt.
The state of Oklahoma is overseeing the $60 million buyout of about 700 properties in the Picher-Cardin area because of public-safety risks associated with the potential of cave-ins. Federal tax dollars, secured by U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., have funded the voluntary buyout, which should conclude later this year.
Wiggans said the constitutionality of a state law that prevents residents from suing the trust will be challenged. He said he doubts that the trust is immune from lawsuits in that taxpayer money is funding the buyout.
In statements early last year, Robert Parmele Jr., president of Cinnabar Services, and J.D. Strong, state adviser to the trust who is now Oklahoma’s secretary of environment, said mistakes had been made with the appraisals, but that steps were taken to correct the deficiencies.
On Thursday, Parmele did not respond to a telephone call seeking comment about the possibility of a class-action lawsuit. Larry Roberts, manager of trust operations, and Paul Sund, press secretary to Henry, were asked by phone for their reaction to the possible legal action, but both declined to comment.
John Frazier, who attended the meeting and had accepted his buyout offer under protest, said: “We got some positive words last night that we never got from the trust, Cinnabar or the review appraisers. These people are at least talking to us.
“I am very hopeful about this. If I were asked to participate in a class-action lawsuit, I would.”
Aletha Redden, a Picher resident who has declined her offer from the trust, said: “I think that anyone can see that there’s something wrong when someone has paid insurance premiums for 30 years and someone else gets the settlement money.
“Just listening to them last night gave me hope. It gave us all hope. What we want is for justice to be served and for everybody to be treated fairly. Many of the people who were there last night are elderly people who have been bought out who probably won’t live long enough to see the benefit of a class-action lawsuit, and that’s a shame.”
Other Picher residents who attended the meeting said they were reluctant to comment for fear of retaliation from the trust involving family members who are waiting to receive buyout offers.
The lawyers told those attending the meeting that they had spent five hours before the meeting with Ed Keheley, a Picher resident who resigned from the trust when, he has said, it became apparent to him that the buyout offers were insufficient in helping people move out of the town. Keheley, who has been critical of the trust, was traveling Thursday and could not be reached for comment.
At the beginning of the meeting, Marr asked whether anyone attending was associated with the trust or Cinnabar. A woman said she worked for Cinnabar. She was asked to leave.
Roberts, the manager of the trust operations, said he had been told by the public adjuster that he could attend the meeting, but later was told that he could not.
Miles, the public adjuster, said he and the lawyers were concerned because some people at the meeting have not yet been approached by the trust or are in the buyout procedure. Those residents, he said, would be reluctant to speak during the meeting if they thought they might be dealing with those Cinnabar or trust officials in the future.
Those attending the meeting were asked to fill out a one-page questionnaire about their circumstances involving the trust, the appraisal company and their insurance provider. Those who could not attend were directed to the law firm’s Web site — www.marrlawfirm.com — to fill out an electronic questionnaire.
Class-action suit
The attorneys who met Wednesday night with residents of the Picher-Cardin area successfully represented 71 plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit in which a jury found that State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. intentionally underpaid claims to families whose homes were damaged by a 1999 tornado near Oklahoma City. One of the plaintiffs in that suit was awarded $13 million.
Source: The Associated Press
