Richmond is exploring its options after a federal jury found the city partially responsible for a massive plastics fire.
On Sept. 18, the eight-member U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana jury assigned the city 40% fault for damages residents sustained because of the April 11, 2023, fire at three North West F Street properties, including two the city owns. Cornerstone Trading Group and its owner, Seth Smith, were each found 30% responsible.
Mayor Ron Oler read a statement during the Sept. 21 Richmond Common Council meeting that said the city “is disappointed with that decision.” He indicated the city is working with its Indianapolis-based attorneys from Bose McKinney & Evans to explore appealing the verdict.
In the meantime, the attorneys have asked Judge Tanya Walton Pratt to issue a postverdict judgment on the city’s argument that it’s immune from liability claims. Pratt ruled against the city’s oral motions during the five-day trial; however, the city has until Oct. 9 to file its motion with proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The plaintiffs then will have 14 additional days to file a response.
The city filed claims against Cornerstone and Smith after being named part of the lawsuit. Pratt ruled that Cornerstone trespassed onto city property with its plastics and caused hazardous materials to infiltrate the ground. Prior to the trial, the city settled for $2,035,000 from Cornerstone and $20,000 from Smith.
The jury awarded Tushawn Craig and Marquetta Stokes $5,000 each in negligence damages, then awarded $10,000 in nuisance damages. Craig and Stokes filed the lawsuit within a month of the fire, and Pratt certified it a class action. According to court documents, 3,549 people could be eligible for damages, including those who live within the half-mile fire evacuation zone and those owning property within that half-mile radius.
After wrapping up the trial issues, the court will proceed to the class-action phase of the lawsuit.
Cornerstone accumulated plastics waiting for recycling across 13.8 acres at 308 NW F St., 310 NW F St. and 358 NW F St. Cornerstone only owned the 308 property.
The city used unsafe building procedures in 2019 to issue orders that Smith clean up the properties, noting among other problems that the properties were fire hazards. The order was upheld when Smith appealed to Wayne County Circuit Court.
After Smith failed to clean up the properties, the city used tax-sale procedures to acquire ownership in 2021 of the 310 and 358 properties. The city worked with Smith, but any cleanup progressed slowly.
On April 11, 2023, the fire ignited with plastics on the city’s 358 property and consumed all three properties, emitting toxic, black smoke. Wayne County Emergency Management Agency ordered evacuations within a half-mile of the fire, not removing the order until April 16.
Two other lawsuits have also been filed against Cornerstone, Smith and the city. A lawsuit filed by 150 plaintiffs has been moved to Henry County Circuit Court. Its plaintiffs claim they sustained economic damages, plus physical, mental and emotional problems because of the fire. A status conference in the case was scheduled for Sept. 30.
In addition, Ike Martin Ekwealor and Martin Ekwealor Pharmaceuticals filed suit in Wayne County Superior Court 2 claiming that Cornerstone deposited plastics on the neighboring Ekwealor property and that those plastics burned during the fire. It also claims two warehouses were consumed by the fire and a third damaged, and that fire debris and fumes spread throughout the Ekwealor property and created offensive contact with Ekwealor.
No trial date has been set for that lawsuit.
After the fire, the Environmental Protection Agency removed the hazardous rubble from the city’s properties. In his statement, Oler said the city is evaluating next steps toward redevelopment of the properties, the former Hoffco facility.
“… We remain focused on restoring these properties to productive use after nearly two decades of underutilization,” Oler said.
A version of this article will appear in the September 30 2026 print edition of the Western Wayne News.
