A group of six homeowners from Suburban Chicago retained the Scanlan Law Group to file a lawsuit suit against the Lockformer Company, a metal fabricator, and Honeywell, claiming that their properties were adversely affected by spills of the hazardous chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) on the company’s property, which is located near the homeowners’ properties.

From 1969 thru 1992, Honeywell delivered TCE to Lockformer where it pumped the TCE into a rooftop tank. Once the tank filled it overflowed onto the ground, it contaminated the ground water which was a source of water for the homeowners’ wells.

In 1994, Honeywell paid Lockformer $800,000 to clean up the spills, but Lockformer failed to begin clean-up until 2003, shortly before trial was set to begin. Additionally, Lockformer misled neighbors about the extent of contamination.

When Lockformer refused to settle the case, Edmund Scanlan took the case to a jury trial, which lasted three weeks. After only a few hours of deliberations, the jury awarded the homeowners $2.36 million in damages, including $2 million in punitive damages ($368,000 against Honeywell, and the rest against Lockformer).