Columbia Gas Faces 15 Lawsuits For Deadly Explosions

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — A North Andover woman filed the 15th lawsuit against Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and its parent company, NiSource Inc., in the wake of last September's gas explosions. Nelinda San Antonio is seeking $7,000 in damages and unspecified legal costs in small claims court for "endangering the life of my family, emotional distress, pain and suffering (due to talking cold showers and being fearful), food costs and gas costs from driving to get hot food."

Columbia Gas does not comment on active litigation.

Earlier this year, Essex County Superior Court Judge James Lang consolidated most of the lawsuits into a single docket to speed up the proceedings. The consolidated case includes class action lawsuits that have been filed against the utility, which was largely blamed in a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report for the explosions that killed one and damaged or destroyed more than 130 buildings in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover.

Some lawsuits, however, are proceeding individually. In all of the cases, Lang has encouraged the plaintiffs and Columbia Gas to work on settlements.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).