$50-Billion Suit Filed for India Victims

A $50-billion class-action suit was filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court against Union Carbide Corp. over injuries and deaths caused by a Dec. 3 leak of toxic gas in its Bhopal, India, insecticide plant.

Seven victims of the disaster were named as plaintiffs in the five-page civil suit, but Los Angeles attorney Harvey G. Cooper noted that damages are sought for an additional 40,000 Indians who have formally retained him to represent them in litigation against the company.

He assured the court that he has the names and addresses of all 40,000 clients and can notify them of the pending litigation, a requirement in class-action lawsuits.

American attorneys flocked to the stricken city last month soliciting clients amid criticism that they were “ambulance chasers.” Several attorneys predicted that suits would be filed in U.S. courts, where damages for accidental death or injury range far higher than in India or other countries.

Harvey also is seeking unspecified amounts for medical expenses and lost wages for those injured, and payment of burial expenses for those killed.

In the United States, a civil suit can be filed against a company wherever it has facilities. Although it is headquartered in Danbury, Conn., Union Carbide has a small operation in Long Beach.

R.A. Devin, supervisor of office services at the Long Beach facility, said she was unaware of the lawsuit and could not comment on it. Spokesmen at the Connecticut headquarters could not be reached late Monday.

Cooper’s seven named clients are Firoz Khan, Kadir Ali, Jafari Saheb, S. Manzor-Ul-Hab, Shaik Nazif, Banarsi Das Chaturvedi and Mohammed Aslam.