Lawyers have filed a third class-action lawsuit against the owner of a Puerto Rico fuel depot whose tanks exploded in October, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people.
The suit against Caribbean Petroleum Corp. includes 1,000 new plaintiffs and 23 new defendants, attorney Eric Quetglas said Wednesday. The group is seeking at least $5 million for damage to homes and environmental contamination, among other things.
The suit accuses the company of not training employees properly and failing to ensure that equipment was working correctly, along with numerous other allegations.
Caribbean Petroleum attorney Nereida Melendez said she had not seen the lawsuit and could not immediately comment on it. A message left with the company was not immediately returned.
Quetglas said he and other attorneys are requesting that two previously filed suits be consolidated with the new one into a single case.
Federal officials say a broken fuel gauge contributed to the Oct. 23 blast, which damaged 21 of the depot’s 40 tanks. (AP)
