One day short of two years after a plastics fire erupted on Richmond’s west side, another lawsuit was filed to recover damages for more than 100 city residents.
Trevor Crossen from Crossen Law Firm in Carmel filed the paperwork April 10, and the suit has been assigned to Circuit Court. It is the second lawsuit Crossen has filed against the city of Richmond, Cornerstone Trading Group, My-Way Trading and Seth Smith. The first was filed shortly after the April 11, 2023, fire and has been moved to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
The initial lawsuit listed two individual plaintiffs: Tushawn Craig and Marquetta Stokes. It asked to be certified as a class action to encompass more plaintiffs; however, it has not yet been accepted as a class action. In that lawsuit, the city filed crossclaims that blame Smith and his businesses solely for the conditions leading to the fire.
The next status conference for that suit is scheduled May 2.
Craig and Stokes are among 100 individuals and two businesses listed in the new lawsuit. Parents are listed individually and as guardians of 48 minor children. They have demanded a jury trial.
The complaint alleges the same negligence and responsibilities of the defendants as the first suit. Richmond owned the properties at 310 N.W. F St. and 358 N.W. F St., while Cornerstone and Smith owned the property at 308 N.W. F St. All three were consumed in flames during the fire, which burned stored plastic waiting to be recycled along with buildings.
The fire, which caused an evacuation of residents within a half-mile that lasted until April 16, sent thick, black smoke billowing into the air visible from dozens of miles away. Wind blew the smoke easterly across Richmond and into Ohio.
Plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit are from inside the evacuation area and from outside the area. The lawsuit claims the property owners failed to remedy a known hazardous situation. Richmond had issued unsafe building orders against the properties nearly four years prior to the fire. The city then purchased through tax routes two of the three properties, trying to spur compliance from Smith and Cornerstone.
The lawsuit says negligence in failing to clean the properties led to the fire. It claims the fire caused the plaintiffs economic damages from loss of use of their residences, temporary accommodations and expenses, lost wages, childcare services and pet boarding. The claims include physical and mental or emotional problems resulting from the fire and the costs and future costs of treatments. The lawsuit indicates smoke and debris invaded the plaintiffs’ properties and they were exposed to the toxic smoke and debris.
The plaintiffs seek all of those damages, plus the costs of the lawsuit, attorney fees and expenses and punitive damages.
A version of this article appeared in the April 23 2025 print edition of the Western Wayne News.