New Suit Is Filed Against Lockheed

For the second time in less than a week, a group of Burbank residents filed a lawsuit claiming property damage and medical problems caused by toxic contamination at Lockheed Martin Corp.’s defunct B-1 manufacturing plant.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles on behalf of seven residents who alleged they incurred loss of property values and suffered health problems that may be related to the company’s release of several cancer-causing chemicals into the water, soil and air.

It was the third lawsuit filed by groups of neighbors living near the former B-1 site since a confidential $60-million settlement between Lockheed Martin and about 1,300 residents over toxic contamination was reached in August. A public outcry over the secrecy of that case resulted in federal and state court lawsuits by hundreds of residents.

Burlingame-based attorney Richard Simon, who filed the lawsuit, said he will prove the relationship between Lockheed’s use of toxics, which dates back to the 1940s, and cases of cancer and other illnesses suffered by his clients.

Lockheed’s settlement with residents in the earlier case involved no admission of liability, and the company has maintained that the B-1 site, bordered by Empire Avenue, Buena Vista Street and the Golden State Freeway, posed no health risks. Company officials could not be reached for comment Thursday.