Ruling Allowing Airport Noise Suits Hailed
A federal court ruling allowing the city to be sued for damages blamed on noise from O’Hare International Airport was hailed Wednesday as a breakthrough in the fight to cut the din in suburban communities.
“It’s one of the biggest victories we’ve had to date,” said John Geils, village president for suburban Bensenville near the busy airport.
The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Tuesday reversed a decision that had barred lawsuits against the city over its airport operations.
A lawsuit filed for Lawrence C. Bieneman of Bensenville seeks damages exceeding “tens of thousands of dollars” for property damage and personal injury from O’Hare noise and air pollution, said Joseph Karaganis, the attorney who filed the suit. The case now goes to Du Page County Circuit Court and may be consolidated with similar lawsuits.
City Corporation Counsel Judson Miner had not read the decision but said: “I don’t view it as a loss.”
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