Free Assistance Offered For Getting Columbia Gas Settlement

ANDOVER, MA — Free legal assistance is available for small businesses affected by the deadly 2019 Columbia Gas explosions seeking settlement money. The company agreed to a $143 million settlement in a class action lawsuit, with itemized compensation available for people and businesses with extraordinary losses. The September explosions, which the National Transportation Safety Board found to be caused by "weak engineering management" by the company, killed one, injured 22 and damaged 131 structures.

The deadline to apply for settlement money is Jan. 9, 2020. Lawyers for Civil Rights and the law firm Ropes & Gray announced Monday they are providing free legal assistance to small businesses applying. "Hundreds of small minority and immigrant-owned businesses suffered devastating losses," they said in a press release. They estimated that 10,000 total businesses were affected.

“Our clients are small businesses that do not have the working capital to recover from a catastrophe of this nature,” Priya Lane, Director of BizGrow, LCR’s small business project, said in a statement. “Not only have they sustained structural damage, but there is ongoing construction surrounding the buildings which dramatically reduces their ongoing ability to maintain regular clients and attract new ones.”

“These businesses are in desperate need of someone to help them cut through the legal thicket and get back on track,” Lane said.

“Our legal team is working with numerous small businesses to prepare claims already,” said Elizabeth Reza, the Ropes & Gray partner leading the project, in a statement. “Helping get the small business community back on track is an essential part of recovery, particularly for communities of color, and we are proud to be a part of that effort.”

More information about how to obtain a settlement is available here.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.