Four law firms—two from Philadelphia, one from Nashville, and one from New York—are looking to merge class-action lawsuits against SPS Technologies, according to law firm Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky’s webpage.

A class-action lawsuit was filed on February 20 in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas by the law firms Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky and Stranch, Jennings & Garvey. An update released on March 2 announced that two more firms had joined the suit, Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, PLLC and Levin Sedran & Berman.

The page says the lawsuits were brought on behalf of a school bus driver for Abington School District, co-owners of an auto service business that is less than a mile from the SPS facility, and a resident in neighboring Jenkintown whose apartment was engulfed in smoke and has experienced coughing and chest pain.

The page also provides information to people who are potentially impacted and looking to be part of the litigation.

“Since the filing of the first complaint, many of the residents and business owners of the impacted area have raised questions about the incident, as well as the litigation against the specialty aerospace parts manufacturer,” the page says. It goes on to provide answers to a list of questions, including:

• What is a class-action lawsuit and why was it filed so quickly after the explosion-fire?
• How do I know if I’m an eligible member of the class, and if I am, what do I have to do?
• Are reports/rumors accurate that first responders, including those from the area, can’t be part of the lawsuit? 
• Does it cost anything to participate? How do the law firms involved get paid?
• What should we do if SPS, or its representative, offers us money in exchange for agreeing not to participate in a lawsuit, including a class-action lawsuit?

The firms asked a Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas judge to consolidate the three lawsuits against the aerospace parts manufacturer because they “arise from the same transaction or occurrence, involve common questions of law and fact, and concern substantially the same set of parties, witnesses, and documents,” according to a court filing.

Merging the lawsuits would reduce the costs of litigation, prevent duplicative efforts, and prevent inconsistent verdicts, the court filing said.

The complaints accuse SPS of “failures to inspect, properly maintain, and/or operate its facility” and say the company failed to “uphold industry standards,” causing damage to “hundreds if not thousands of persons.”

An earlier Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky webpage mentions a filing by a Wyncote resident and school bus driver. Following that lawsuit, the firms “have begun the process of notifying defendant SPS, along with local, state and federal agencies, of their role, and that they aim to obtain class certification under Pennsylvania law,” the page says.

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